Don’t be intimidated that this cake has three different elements. It may be more of a baking project rather than a last-second craving fulfiller, but if you work on the cake one element at a time, they’ll stack into an impressive and satisfying dessert. The pastry cream may be made the day before, and the topping is just four ingredients to combine. Bee sting cake will make anyone feel extra appreciated on a special occasion. Or try it out for a fun weekend baking project just because. It can be made year-round; try using a light and floral honey in the summertime and a dark, bold honey in winter.
Origins of Bee Sting Cake
Bee sting cake is a German cake that’s popular in western Germany as well as in Alsace, France. The cake dates back to the 15th century, so the specifics of its invention are not easy to uncover. My favorite legend about its origin is that before an impending attack on the town of Andernach, some apprentice bakers noticed bees’ nests on the city walls. They hurled the bees’ nests at the attackers, which sent the invaders fleeing and badly stung. Bakers in the town invented this bee sting cake to celebrate.
Bienenstich: Cake or Bread?
You may be confused because this is a cake recipe, but it also looks a lot like a bread recipe. This is such an old recipe that it predates modern baking soda and baking powder by about 400 years. Many old “cakes” are actually just sweetened bread recipes eaten for dessert. Other examples of yeasted cakes are Kugelhupf from Germany and panettone from Italy. In fact, the famous phrase “Let them eat cake!” referred to brioche bread rather than what we think of cake nowadays.
Instant Yeast Versus Active Dry Yeast
I generally prefer to use instant yeast because I can toss it in with the rest of the ingredients without proofing it first. If you only have active dry yeast at home, go ahead and use that instead. In place of the instant yeast, use 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast. Proof the yeast in the warm milk until it bubbles, which should take between 5 and 10 minutes. To do this, you’ll need to heat the milk and melt the butter separately in step 5 below.
A Pastry Cream Lightened With Whipped Cream
If you want to get fancy and technical, the bee sting cake filling is called crème diplomat. All that is, though, is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. Crème diplomat is light, creamy, and rich rather than overly sweet. To make pastry cream, milk is whisked into a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Then, the mixture is poured into a saucepan to cook over medium-low heat until thickened. Once the pastry cream begins to bubble, cook it for 1 minute longer to ensure that the starch is fully cooked. Otherwise, the pastry cream could break down and loosen over time. Off the heat, you can flavor it with some vanilla extract, and then chill it until needed.
A Crunchy-Sticky Honey Almond Topping
A name like bee sting cake evokes a cake full of sweet honey flavor, and most of the honey is concentrated in the topping. Butter, honey, and sugar melt into a caramel sauce to which a large handful of sliced almonds are added. The top of the cake gets doused before baking and the sauce and almonds caramelize into an irresistible crunchy-sticky, honey-flavored topping.
Make Ahead
My favorite way of breaking this recipe into smaller steps is to make the pastry cream ahead of time. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Let Them Eat Cake!
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1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Yolks from 3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
For the cake
1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons (40g) honey
2 large eggs
2 1/3 (280g) cups bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the topping
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons (40g) honey
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup (115g) sliced almonds
Once it begins to gently bubble, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer to cook out the starch. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator, and use a whisk to stir the pastry cream until smooth and creamy. Add half of the whipped cream to the chilled pastry cream and use a rubber spatula to gently combine. Then fold in the rest of the whipped cream. The filling should be smooth, light, and airy. Place the top layer over the filling. While you can serve it right away, letting it chill for a couple of hours before serving helps set the cake for easier slicing. Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below!
