Have you ever heard of a Bee Sting Cake?
According to Wikipedia: “this traditional Bavarian dessert may have earned its name from its honey topping: according to one legend, a bee was attracted to it, and the baker who invented the cake was stung. Another source cites a legend of German bakers from the 15th century who lobbed beehives at raiders from a neighboring village, successfully repelling them, and celebrated later by baking a version of this cake named after their efforts.”
Hence the name Bienenstich, which translates to Bee Sting.
But whatever you decide to call this cake, I can promise you your friends and family will be calling it delicious and asking for seconds!
The cake isn’t quite like any American cake you may have had. It has more of a pastry texture, filled with pastry cream, and is topped with honey-glazed almonds.
Pastry cream might sound daunting, but it really isn’t difficult to make.
What ingredients do I need to make a Bee Sting Cake?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make a Bee Sting Cake. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make a Bee Sting Cake?
The first step is making the pastry cream for the cake.
In a saucepan bring the milk just to boiling (just until milk starts to foam up.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture (tempering), whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Then, pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly.
When it boils, whisk the mixture constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Stir in vanilla bean extract or extract) Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming.
Cool to room temperature. If not using right away, refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Whisk or stir before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.
Next is the pastry dough for the cake.
The brioche dough isn’t too complicated to make and is what makes the Bee Sting Cake so special.
If you have a stand mixer, it’s really easy to do, but you can mix this by hand because the dough isn’t as thick as bread dough.
Warm the whole milk and honey to 110 degrees F. (any hotter will kill the yeast). Add the active dry yeast to the mixture and wait 10 minutes. The mixture will become foamy and is ready to make the dough.
To the yeast mixture, add two room-temperature eggs, granulated sugar, salt, and the mixture of all-purpose flour and bread flour, combining until just blended. Then add one stick(4 ounces) of softened butter until just blended. The dough will be very soft.
Place the dough into a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to double in volume (it should take about 2 hours). Gently press the dough down and knead a few times (with floured hands). Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
**If the dough appears too wet, add 2-3 tablespoons of bread flour to the mixture. Some of the issues seem to be with the metric equivalents.
When the dough is ready, place the dough into a 9” buttered springform pan. Shape into a ball, and gently, press the dough to fit the pan.
Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment for about an hour. Start making the honey almond topping
Preheat the oven to 350, when the dough has risen.
This 9 inch springform pan is perfect for making cheesecakes and other cakes. It's well made and non stick surface makes releasing the outside of the pan easy.
What Ingredients do I need for the Honey-Almond Topping?
For the topping, you’ll need sliced almonds, butter, honey, sugar and a pinch of salt.
Combine the unsalted butter, sugar, honey, and salt in a small pan.
Bring the mixture to a gentle boil on the stovetop, then remove from the heat. Add the sliced almonds and pour the mixture over the dough.
Place the pan on a parchment-covered baking sheet (the honey mixture will seep through the bottom) and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Place the finished cake on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the cake from the pan.
The aroma of the cake is intoxicating, and there is a beautiful sticky caramelization on top and all around the cake. You’ll be tempted to cut into the cake, but it’s important to let the cake cool completely.
After the cake has fully cooled, carefully slice the cake in half with a serrated knife. Spread the pastry cream on top of the bottom half, covering it with the top half of the cake. Now it’s ready to serve.
Like most European cakes, the Bee Sting Cake is not very sweet. The pastry texture of the cake goes well with the mildly sweet pastry cream. But the honey almond topping is what takes this cake to the next level. The butter in the topping gives a delicate richness that perfectly finishes this Bavarian classic.
*Make sure to use a sharp knife to slice the cake.
This offset spatula is essential for baking and frosting cakes.
These are the spatulas I use in my kitchen. They are durable, heat resistant and easy to keep clean.
This the wire whisk you'll find in my home kitchens.
Having a good set of mixing bowls is essential for home baking and cooking.
Ruby
I have been searching for this cake for years! A German family owns a bakery in the town I grew up in (Australia) and this unassuming cake was to die for! I’ve tried it from other places here in the US and even in Europe, but I guess the recipe (and even region of Germany) can vary how it’s made. I have made this cake a number of times and have heard “this is the best dessert I’ve ever had!”numerous times. It is also my favourite dessert, most importantly! Brings back so many memories of this delicious decadence that my dad would bring home and our family would demolish it so fast. Perfect treat and fancy enough for a dinner party!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the cake and especially happy that to hear it brings back memories of your dad and family.
Nancy Kirsch
Couldn’t you make this is two cake pans so you don’t have to cut the one cake in half? Even tho I’m a longtime baker, I’ve never done the cake splitting thing!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m not sure how the dough would react being cut in half and placed in two pans. Splitting the cake is really easy, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Insert the knife halfway through in the center and just turn the cake to cut it.
Caitlin
Do you think I could make this without a stand mixer? Can I mix it by hand?
Chef Dennis Littley
You can definitely make it by hand, but it’s going to harder than you might think.
Mrs Joy
I had a customer ask if I could make this. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!! I used buttermilk as I ran out of whole milk with the pastry cream. I added an extra tsp of salt (I quadrupled the recipe). I baked in a 10” cake pan lined with parchment and a parchment collar.
LISTEN!!!! This is my new fav dessert!!!! It was HEAVENLY!!!! Thank you for the recipe! I’m in LOVE!!!
Jennie
Best and most authentic recipe I can find online for the Bee Sting cake. Thank you Chef Dennis!
Carol Jones
Hi Chef Dennis. I adore this pastry but I feel compelled to tell you what I was always taught as the origins.
It’s not “Bee Stings” rather it’s “Beestings” – one word.
Beestings is an ancient word meaning the first milk produced by a cow or goat after giving birth, as this was used to make the super rich pastry creme.
As with most words that are no longer in common use, it makes perfect sense that the name has morphed to give rise to the myths and legends that you (and countless others) have used in your introduction here!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you for letting me know the true origins of this dessert.
missy
Brioche- one trick with the Brioche dough is after adding the butter the dough must be beaten until it passes the window pain test this will give you a much lighter and airy bread. I’m not a fan of straight pastry cream so I folded in 1.5 cups of already whipped heavy cream stabilized with gelatin after the pastry cream cooled to give me a lighter diplomat cream instead. Used 1 full tablespoon diserono. Delicious!! TY!!
Simona
I would try this recipe, seems the most logical of all the others I’ve seen. But I love pastry cream too much so I want to DOUBLE the amount.
Chef Dennis Littley
That might be too much pastry cream between the layers but you can try it. You could also make the extra and use it as topping for a slice of the cake.
Maria
Very good cake
I had it in the past and the home almond topping was like a hard shell
I’d love to know how this was done
Brittany
Hi! I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to substitute the egg and egg yolk in this? It looks absolutely delicious and I really want to try to make it, but unfortunately my son is highly allergic.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m sorry Brittany, but I have never made this type of dough without eggs, and I wouldn’t know where to begin to make the adjustment. It’s fairly easy with cakes or muffins but this brioche dough makes it a little more difficult.
Cary
I’ve made this in the past and has always been delicious. Recently I made this twice for church functions over the holidays — one cake the first time and two cakes for the second time it was that popular! I’ve been asked to make it again for an event next week. People’s faces light up when they see it it’s that good! The directions (and video) are straightforward. Takes a bit of time as does anything with two rises, but it is worth the effort for sure!
Wendy Hays
I wanted to make a dessert for our German-Ukrainian family, so I found this recipe and followed it exactly. This cake was the biggest hit of the dessert table at Thanksgiving and everyone wants it for Christmas now too! I did refrigerate the dough overnight. Just keep in mind that if you do this to leave plenty of extras time for the final rise before baking. EXCELLENT TREAT with the honey baked almonds & pastry cream.
ISS DIESEN KUCHEN “eat the cake”
AJ
I’m confused on the amount of butter and bread flour. Butter is 1/2 a cup which is a whole stick and bread flour 1 cup. However, the video shows both using significantly less, could these items be converted incorrectly as well? Or am I missing something.
Chef Dennis Littley
follow the recipe, the video is for instruction so you can see the process.