Beesting cake
The “Bee sting” cake is of German origin and there are many stories surrounding this rather unusual name. One story is about two royal pastry chefs who stole honey from a beehive on the banks of the Rhine in 1474, to bake a special cake for their king. This bee sting cake was the result – possibly thus named on account of the numerous stings they were subjected to.
The bee sting cake recipe is long with many steps. It is, however, not difficult to make and the final product is a real treat!
Bee sting cake (Bienenstich)
Rating
Ingredients
Cake
- ¼ cup warm milk
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 eggs, whisked
- ½ stick (2 ounces) butter, room temperature
- oil for greasing
Custard (Crème Patisserie) – make during 1st proof
- 2+½ cup milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ stick (1 ounce) butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping – make towards the end of the 2nd proof
- ½ stick (2 ounces) butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup flaked almonds
Instructions
Cake
- Combine the milk and honey in a jug, mix in the yeast and set aside for a few minutes to froth.
- Put all the cake ingredients, including the frothed yeast, in a large mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachment of a table mixer (if available), mix at low speed for 4-5 minutes (otherwise mix and knead by hand), to combine and develop the elasticity.
- Scrape the dough from the bowl and add a few drops of oil to the bowl. Spread the oil in the bowl with your fingers and then rub your palms together. (A soft dough is easier to work with if ones hands are lightly greased. Try this instead of adding more flour. The eggs and butter make this dough delicate - less robust - than regular bread dough).
- Knead the dough lightly, shape it into a ball and place it in the bowl.
- Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic film and proof for 60-80 minutes in a warm place, to approximately double in size/volume.
Make the custard filling during this 1st proof.
Custard
- Scald 2 cups of milk (heat to just below boiling point).
- Whisk the remaining ½ cup of milk with the egg yolks to blend.
- Combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a bowl.
- Gradually add the milk-egg mixture to the dry ingredients by whisking to form a smooth paste and then a smooth mixture, once all the liquid is added.
- Stir in the hot milk and then return the custard to the saucepan.
- Stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. Continue stirring, at a low simmer, for an additional 2-3 minutes to cook the starch.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Set aside to cool and then place in the refrigerator until needed.
Cake
- When the dough has risen, deflate and shape it into a round to fit the base of a greased 9-inch cake tin. A loose-bottomed cake tin with a base of parchment paper works well.
- Set aside to proof for 25-30 minutes.
Prepare the Topping towards the end of the 2nd proof.
Topping and cake
- Melt the butter with the sugar, honey and salt, while stirring.
- Boil for 3-4 minutes, while stirring gently, until the mixture starts to change color/darken.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the almonds.
- When the cake has proofed for 30 minutes, place it on a baking sheet (to catch any spills) and top the dough with the almond topping. If the topping has hardened, place clumps of the mixture as evenly as possible, over the surface.
- Bake at 350˚ F for 25-30 minutes.
- Cool for a few minutes before running a knife round the edge of the cake tin and removing the cake to a cooling rack.
- When the cake is cold, carefully cut it horizontally, into two halves, with a long, serrated-edged knife, using a saw-like motion. Cover the bottom half with the cold custard and top with the nutty half of the cake. (see Notes*)
- Slice carefully to serve, using a saw-like motion and as little downward pressure as possible as this would force the custard out.
- Refrigerate any left-overs because of the custard.
- Ideally, this is a same-day cake – the delicate cake does not improve with age, although it remains delicious!
Notes
Instant active yeast can be used. In this case, add the yeast to the dry ingredients and mix in the combined milk and honey with the eggs and butter – step 2.
*Cutting the top nutty layer into slices before assembling simplifies the cutting and serving as there is a liberal amount of custard which tends to ooze out.
Whipped cream can be added to the custard for a richer filling, or flavored whipped cream can replace the custard layer.
A little clarified gelatin can be added to the custard for a firmer filling.
*Cutting the top nutty layer into slices before assembling simplifies the cutting and serving as there is a liberal amount of custard which tends to ooze out.
Whipped cream can be added to the custard for a richer filling, or flavored whipped cream can replace the custard layer.
A little clarified gelatin can be added to the custard for a firmer filling.
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- Dough ingredients to be mixed.
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- Soft dough ready for 1st rise.
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- Dough in cake tin after 2nd rise.
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- Mixing smooth paste for custard.
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- Scalded milk added to mixed custard ingredients.
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- Custard cooked, butter and vanilla added.
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- Butter, sugar, honey and salt for topping.
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- Almonds added to caramelized sauce.
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- Bee sting cake ready to bake.
Nicolene Salt says
I made this today! I was debating to go with the German way by using their vanilla pudding method for the filling, but decided to go with your filling instead. Well worth it. It came out great! Had the family over try it and it was like the good old days of coffee and Bienenstich at a coffee shop in South Africa! The only thing I added was a little heavy cream with the topping mixture. A lot of the German recipes called for that. Also cutting the top layer in slices before assembling it on the rest of the cake, helps the cutting process later to keep the custard from being smashed. And lastly proofing the dough by placing it on the top shelf of the oven with a bowl of boiled water on the rack below, creates a suitable warm environment. Of course don’t turn the oven on for this part.
Aileen says
Thanks Nicolene for sharing. Your suggestion of cutting the top layer into slices before assembling is really good. I’ll add it to the Notes!
Proofing dough in a cold oven with a bowl of hot water is also a handy tip.
Being transported back to happy family gatherings in the past is always a treat!
Vivienne says
Making this cake tomorrow. If I can find the King Arthur flour I’ll use it, and also reduce the cooking time to 20-25 mins. I can’t get cornstarch, so I used arrowroot. Maybe I’ll try using corn flour instead. I will make all these changes to the recipe and see what happens. Will keep you posted.
aileen says
Vivienne, I wouldn’t substitute corn starch with corn flour as corn flour is similar to wheat flour – made from corn. Rather replace the corn starch with 1-2 tablespoons of (regular) flour. (You may need to adjust the consistency of the custard with a little more milk as I haven’t tested this). Corn starch is made from the corn endosperm and is what we know as Maizena back home in SA. ‘Argo’ is a popular brand name here (yellow container). It is a thickener and also gives a sheen to the custard.
Good luck – I hope it is a great success:)
aileen says
Vivienne, another thought – ingredients also affect the final product. After using different flours I now generally use King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour unless otherwise specified. I really hope your next bee sting cake works well as it is quite an effort to make! Please let me know:)
Vivienne says
I’ll give it a go. Thanks for your help.
Vivienne says
Thanks Aileen for your prompt response. The dough was very soft and moist and didn’t have to add any more flour. Maybe because the yeast was a little past the use by date?
aileen says
Vivienne, unfortunately we can’t blame the yeast if there were no issues with the dough rising. I was wondering whether the baking time couldn’t be shortened a little – 20-25 minutes?
Vivienne says
I made this cake but it turned out very dry. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong.
aileen says
I am sorry you were disappointed Vivienne. As mentioned in number 10, this cake is best when eaten on the day it is made. I do not recall it being dry.
Were you able to keep the delicate dough fairly moist or did you perhaps add additional flour? Hopefully the filling and topping made up for the dryer cake?!
Christine says
Wow. Phenomenal recipe. I am not a baker, but I attempted to make this for my German class. Instructions were clear and I am incredibly satisfied with the outcome. Thank you!
aileen says
Thank you for sharing Christine!!
Lucy says
Gorgeous!