Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich Kuchen)
This is an authentic recipe for the classic Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich Kuchen). It is a yeasted dough layer cake that is filled with some cream (pastry cream / diplomat cream / whipped cream) and topped with a crunchy honey-almond topping (also known as florentine).
A key tip is to soak the cake layers well with the honey syrup so it will keep the moisture, even when refrigerated.
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Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich Kuchen):
Equipment: Baking ring sized 18cm (d) x 6cm (h)
Recipe: Makes one bee sting cake
Dough (about 270g):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Bread Flour | 125g |
| Dry Yeast | 2.5 tsps |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
| White Granulated Sugar | 25g |
| Water | 48g |
| Eggs | 25g |
| Cold Unsalted Butter (cubed) | 45g |
Almond-Honey Topping (Florentine):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Unsalted Butter | 30g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 30g |
| Honey | 30g |
| Sliced Almond | 60g |
Honey Syrup:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Honey | 20g |
| Boiling Water | 60g |
| Dark Rum | 1 tbsp |
Insert Cream (Vanilla):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 125g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 12g |
| Vanilla Extract | 1/2 tsp |
Preparation instructions:
Almond-Honey Topping (Florentine):
- In a small saucepan, cook together the butter, honey and sugar on medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is boiling.
- Add in the sliced almonds and keep cooking for 1-2 minutes on low heat.
- Remove from heat and allow to chill 10-20 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it cools down.
Dough:
- Into a standing mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the the dough’s ingredients, except for the butter. Mix on the lowest setting until a dough is formed.
- Once a dough is formed, gradually add in the butter cubes.
- Increase the mixing speed to medium-low and knead for 10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and let allow it to rest on a lightly floured counter, covered with some plastic wrap, for about 10 minutes.
Syrup:
In a small glass, mix the honey with the boiling water until it is fully dissolved. Once the mixture has cooled down, add in the rum.
Insert Cream (vanilla):
Note: it is recommended to prepare the cream when you are about to assemble the cake.
In a medium sized bow, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until stiff peaks stage. Keep refrigerated until use.
Baking and assembly:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to catch any drippings and place the cake ring at the center. Line the cake ring with a parchment paper strip.
- Place the dough ball at the center of the cake ring. Flatten it with your hands until it had reached the all the way to the edge of the cake ring.
- Using a fork, prick holes into the dough.
- Springle the dough with the cooled down, florentine mixture. Try to do the coating in as an even layer as possible, but don’t worry about it too much as the filling will spread during baking. Proof for 40 minutes at room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 170C (fan mode off) placing a baking rack at the bottom shelf inside the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Note that the Florentine mixture will bubble and spread around, even leak outside the baking ring. This is normal and expected, and the parchment paper layering the baking sheet will help a lot in the cleaning afterwards. Also note that it is expected that the middle part is slightly sunken in.
- Allow the cake to cool down completely before unmolding from the cake ring.
- Cut the cake into two 1.5cm thick layers.
- Moisten BOTH layers (the exposed sponge part) with the syrup. At this stage, some bakers would prefer to cut the top layer into 8 equal pieces, to make cutting the cake easier after it is filled with the cream.
- Evenly spread the entire amount of the cream on top of the bottom layer and smooth the sides. Cover the cream with the top layer.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator.
