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 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 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 2 room temperature eggs, sugar, salt, the mixture of all-purpose flour and bread flour combing until just blended. Then add 1 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.
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 it to 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.
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 from 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.
Kitchen tools I use for my cakes
- 9-inch springform pan
- offset spatula (essential for bakers)
- 9-inch parchment cake circles
- silicone spatulas
- wire whisk
- mixing bowls
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Bee Sting Cake
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 1¼ cups milk whole or 2%
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ tablespoon liqueur (Grand Marnier Brandy, Kirsch or Amaretto) (optional)
Brioche dough:
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour divided
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
Honey-Almond Topping:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Pastry Cream:
- In a medium-sized heatproof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. (Don’t let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the milk to a light boil(just until milk starts to foam up.)
- Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.)
- Pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk 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 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.
Brioche dough:
- In a small saucepan (or a small cup if you want to use the microwave), combine milk and 1 tablespoon honey and heat until it registers between 110 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle over yeast. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes until yeast is creamy/foamy.
- Transfer bowl to mixer stand and attach paddle (or hook) attachment. While mixing at low speed, gradually add eggs, all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt, and mix until blended.
- Gradually add all but 2 tablespoons of bread flour. Mix at medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should not stick to sides of bowl; if it does, add some of all of the remaining 2 tablespoons of bread flour until dough cleans sides of the bowl.
- Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing at medium speed until it is blended into the dough. (Dough will be very soft.) Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand a few times to ensure that butter is completely incorporated into the dough. Shape dough into a ball and transfer it to a medium buttered bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until it has doubled in volume.
- Punch dough down to deflate it, and knead it a few times. Return dough to the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or up to 12 hours). The dough should have doubled in volume. If it hasn't, let it stand at room temperature until it has. (NOTE: I made the dough the night before.)
- Butter bottom and sides of a 9” spring-form pan. Shape dough into a ball and arrange it, smooth side up, in center of the pan. Flatten ball gently with your palm until it covers the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and let the dough rise until it is puffed, about 1 hour.
Honey-Almond Topping:
- Combine the butter, sugar, honey, and salt, and bring to a gentle boil on the stovetop.
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the almonds. Evenly pour over the dough and place the pan on a parchment (or foil) covered baking sheet.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F for about 22-25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
- Place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool four 10 minutes. Remove from the Springform Pan and allow it to cool completely.
Assembly:
- Using a serrated knife, cut the cake in half. I place the cake on a rotating cake stand and being by rotating the cake and creating a cut line midway through the cake. Continue rotating, allowing the knife to cut deeper until the cake is completely sliced in half.
- Spread the pastry cream, leaving a narrow edge. Gently replace the top layer of the cake. Serve with coffee or tea.
Notes
Nutrition
Amy Roskelley
You make everything look so easy!! Even when I think it won’t be. This cake looks DELICIOUS!
Saabirah
Hi there!
Could I use instant yeast for this recipe, and how would the method differ? Thanks!
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes you can. You just don’t need to let it bloom in warm water. The benefit of baking with active-dry yeast is that by blooming it in water, you can guarantee that it’s still alive. If you add instant yeast to a mixture of flour and salt, there’s no way to know for sure if it’s still alive.
Sangita
What a delicious recipe! It sounds labor of love. I’m definitely going to try this cake.
Shery Sullivan
Today is the first day I ever heard of this cake. I hope to make it on St. Patrick’s Day. My husband should be happy. And my neighbors, I’ll share. Would it be ok for dessert or just a morning coffecake? Then I’ll definitely be making it in the fall for my daughter’s birthday. She was born in Munich, Germany in 1971. She will definitely appreciate this. I’m a novice baker, but love trying new recipes.
Debbie Clark
Hihi Dennis,
Baked this beauty this weekend gone. It tasted amazing! I’ll be baking it again for sure. Should be quicker and easier next time! A definite dinner or birthday party treat. Thanks!
Melissa C
Looks delicious! How would I substitute for instant yeast?
TC
I just made this. I used an 8 inch cake pan lined with parchment, bottom and sides after sprayed/floured. Cake was perfectly cooked at 25 min for me and the custard set up perfect. I did make a day ahead both as the dough needs to hold over the night before in the fridge. Wish I could post a pic. Tasty.
Shery
I didn’t understand if you sprayed and floured your pan before the parchment or after you added it.
Chef Dennis Littley
Butter the pan, no flour. The parchment goes on the baking sheet under the pan
Glenda
Hi Dennis, l haven’t attempted a cake in a long time and l am unsure as your cooking time says 2 hours but following the recipe it says 20-25 minutes. Is that correct? Regards Glenda
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for letting me know Glenda, I’ve corrected the overall times
Jane Blair
I had never heard of a Bee Sting cake before stumbling onto this recipe while looking for German deserts. What a find this was!! This cake is amazing. I always make deserts for our huge family dinners and opted to make apple strudel as well. The cake was enormous hit, getting the highest praises by all.
This recipe will be a regular, even though it is so time consuming. I made the brioche dough the day before and did the final rise the next day. I also made the custard the day before as well. Too many times I have made a custard desert the same day it was to be served, only to find I didn’t have quite enough time. As it was, I was still running out the door with a piping hot pan of strudel, but my cake was perfectly prepared, and ready to be the star of the show!
Ann O
We have had German meals each Sunday for the past four weeks to celebrate Oktoberfest. At the suggestion of a friend who had lived in Germany for two years, I decided to make a Bee Sting Cake. I searched the available recipes and decided on this one and I am glad that I did. It was a huge hit! In fact, it was everyone’s favorite recipe over the entire four weeks. I’ve added it to our family cookbook and to my list of favorite recipes for 2020. Thank you!!
Kaille
Hi, I have been dying to make this. I am in the process of adding the butter to the dough, but it is not blending in, rather just smearing around the outside of the dough, which seems pretty tough and resistant to accepting any of the butter.
I followed the directions exactly. How long should it take, or have I done something wrong?
Thanks so much!
Nat
This happened to me too! I just smooshed it all together with my hands in the bowl until the butter was partly worked in and then let the dough hook have another blast. I also had to add half a tablespoon more flour. It worked fine in the end 🙂
Maria T
I have been making this for years from the German Bee Sting boxed mix available at gourmet groceries and with all the time and effort involved in even a boxed mix (you still have to add a lot of fresh ingredients so you don’t get a free pass on this one), I have always wanted to attempt this from scratch. Yet intimidation and a skeptical critical eye kept me searching a long time for a recipe that was full of rich natural ingredients that stayed true to the original German tradition (necessary), while being as simple as it could be to obtain the desired result (sufficient). This was a perfect balance of time (it is time consuming but you can break it up into manageable practical steps) where if I started a day, or two, before, it was a perfect use of my less than busiest times of the day as well as low traffic times in the kitchen. I started after dinner on the filling and stored in fridge. Then started the dough and placed in my barely warm oven (just slightly warmer than my air conditioned kitchen) and let the 2 hours go by while my evening activity resumed. Then just prior to bed I kneaded the dough again and popped in the fridge with the filling. Perfect. Next morning, up an hour early, I was able to pull out my components and resume along with the topping (while my dough was finishing up its last round in my springform), get in the oven, etc, and in about the same time as it took me with the mix, I had a beautiful delicious Bee Sting all my own. This turned out so lovely I almost wanted to hide it and make something else for my guests. But sharing it made it even more delightful. This was just a perfect balance of rich honey almond and buttery delight. Perfect for breakfast or dessert and so much nicer than the super sweet heavy alternatives. Thank you Chef Dennis! I can’t wait to try more recipes.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment Maria, you truly made my day!
sheila j soper
MY OH MY! just have to make this.!!!!!!!!!looks like heaven in the mouth to me….thank you.
Shyama Jeyanathan
I live in Sri Lanka and a friend who had been to Germany remembered eating this cake as a child and wanted me to bake her one. It came out perfectly. She was delighted with the cake.
Michael Pennett
I am really excited to make this recipe work. But I had some baking questions, as I am new to custards and brioche
After cooling the custard in the fridge, it came out fairly “flan like”. I tried mixing it in a mixer with some milk but it’s still fairly chunky. Is there an ingredient reason why it was more a solid ‘flan’ then a mushy custard?
After rising the cake in the spring-pan, it did not seem to rise very much, and the baked cake is fairly short (1 inch?). Was this a yeast problem?
Thank you anyone for the help. Like I said, I am very excited to make this recipe work. The “prototype” tastes amazing!!
Max
Thank you Chef Dennis. I must say I am not a baker, but following your directions was perfect. This recipe was amazing. My cake turned out exactly like yours and from the looks of it, it probably tasted the same. My family and I enjoyed it so much, it will be one of our top cakes to make in the future. Thank you for this recipe. I recommend anyone even a newbie to try this recipe. It is simple, but just remember it does take a lot of time. But in the end, it is totally worth it and it looks extremely professional, like you bought it from a restaurant or bakery.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m very happy to hear that the cake turned out well for you Max! I hope you’re inspired to try more of my recipes
Anslee Victoria
I just wanted to let you know that this made my day! I’ve been wanting to make this recipe, but never quite had time. With this quarantine, I decided to give it a shot. Just wonderful. The perfect dessert or breakfast. I bake a good amount, and I think this is my favorite thing I’ve ever made. Used regular AP flour and cashews instead of almonds. Just delicious. Thanks again.
Theresa Petroski
I have whole almonds. Can I use chopped almonds instead of slivered?
Toni H
Possibly a dumb question. Are you preheating the oven and then baking, or starting with a cold oven? The wording is a tad confusing
Chef Dennis Littley
preheating is always the way to go, unless otherwise stated. Thanks for asking
Mel
Going to have to try this recipe.. Had to laugh when I came across a typo “Bee Stink Cake” 🤣
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for pointing that out. Spell correct only catches the misspell if it’s not a word.
Cookermama in Az
I did Everything wrong and it still turned out great! First of all, I wasn’t able to start the dough the night before; then found I only had all-purpose flour (forgot to add the bread flour to my shopping list!); had to start the dough late on the day of a party at which it was to be served. The first rising went fine, but didn’t have time to let it chill out in the fridge, so had to do the second rising on the countertop where it was cool but certainly not cold and the third rising, per recipe…except the dough was already at room temp (about 73 degrees!) I was in such a rush that I forgot the sugar, honey butter mixture on the stove so boiled a little too long and when I added the almonds, it had thickened up substantially…added a tad more butter and it did fine. Poured it on the oven-ready dough and some fell through a large bubble in the dough. However, it baked perfectly and everyone loved it!!! I will absolutely make this again…with more time and all the right ingredients! I made this for a German Feast pogressive dinner and all 10 guests were quite suitably impressed! By the way, I’m not a novice baker, so I have no excuses for all the mistakes except too rushed and not allowing myself more time.
Linda
First time making this. The cake was lovely however I thought the pastry cream didn’t have enough hold to it. I appreciate the recipe and will try another pastry cream next time. Is typical german pastry cream rather loose like a pudding.?
Sandra
This cake for me is labor, time, and clean-up intense but so worth it. The honey glazed almonds and cream filling are divine. I made a large rectangular cake which was difficult to half, but I got it done. This has to be one of my favorite cakes. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
rebecca
I am from Singapore. Love your recipes BUT …… here we are using metric measurements so can’t use your recipes at all. Would there be a conversion table which I can use as I really would like to bake using your recipes !
Doris
When I have problems with that I ask Mr. Goggle for a conversion.. it’s all available on line, any possible conversion you need. Weight to TBSP, cup to grams in any product.
Dale
When you go to print the recipe it gives you the option to have the ingredients in metric.
Chamanicecream
Thank you for recipe !!! Delicious cake,easy direction,great website.
Kim
I just made this after a 24-hr adventure! Phew…! It was a lot of work (for an amateur like me:)), but so worth it! I followed the recipe strictly, the cream turned out amazing and the dough rose beautifully. It didn’t sink at all after I took it out of the oven. I was quite worried, because it didn’t rise much in the fridge (overnight) so I left it an additional 4-5 hours at room temperature (in a very cold kitchen!). Luckily it managed to rise very well in the end.
Also, I didn’t have any bread flour, so I used only all-purpose organic non-bleached flour and it turned out great.
I’m so grateful for the recipe and the detailed instructions! Even my picky husband said he really enjoyed the cake and the cream tastes amazing. Hurrah! :))
Chef Dennis Littley
thank you for such a great review and comment Kim! I’m happy to hear you had success with this recipe!
Ramona Damewood
How much vanilla extract? I think I’m going to try almond extract instead!
Chef Dennis Littley
one teaspoon Ramona. Almond would be a nice addition
Gena Durrett
A few years ago, we decided to forego the traditional American Thanksgiving or Christmas food in favor of a German feast. Ever since then, i have been afraid of the Bienenstich cake. I can make a mean pretzel… Not to mention rouladen, krautkrapfen. beirocks, and even strudle. But for some reason, I was afraid to try the bienenstich. I think it was more a fear of the pastry cream. Well THIS year, I bought some vanilla pudding, just in case I muffed up the cream and just went with it. I should never have been scared. This recipe is absolutely amazing! Even my mother-in-law didn’t have a single criticism (and that is saying a lot).
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the comment and I’m happy to hear the cake turned out well!
Alison
Just checking, is the amount of milk needed 1 and 1/4 cups or just 1 cup?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Alison
thanks for the heads up on the recipe, I switched recipe plugins and it didn’t convert everything correctly. The pastry cream is 1 1/4 cup milk. The brioche is just 1/4 cup
Cheers
Dennis
Lucy
I never ever leave comments on any web pages, but I wanted to leave a comment here as I thought this was such a good recipe and it was a real adventure making it! I like to bake regular cakes and so on but this was one of the most difficult things I have ever tried – I certainly never bake with yeast, had never made a creme pat etc.
I didn’t have active dry so just used double the amount of fresh yeast and it was fine. Also, I don’t have a stand mixer so did this by hand. I would NOT recommend this! I didn’t realise that brioche isn’t something people really do by hand, so there was about an hour of really sticky, messy kneading going on before it became a dough. If you are trying this and have to knead in the butter by hand, just keep going! It will make a dough eventually!!!
There are some other recipes on maybe more well-known sites available but I saw this one first and having read the comments, decided this looked the best – for example the Smitten Kitchen recipe has lots of comments about the top sinking in etc. I had maybe one small patch that this happened but the rest was fine and I could easily slice it in half.
All in all, it worked great, and I haven’t felt so proud after making something in a long time. Thank you!
One thing – some of the measures are a bit confusing. For instance when it states “cup 3/4” of something I would automatically think that means a cup AND a quarter. It just means a quarter. Maybe you could change that to say “3/4 cup”.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you like the cake Lucy, and thank you for letting me know about the recipe. I changed the program that places my recipes and not everything converted correctly. I’ve fixed the recipe
Luke Marinoff-Long
I tried this out but i stuck with a good 17% gluten / 00 Bakers flour & I love the smell of fresh yeast so used this instead, all in all it turned out great!
Love the enthusiasm on this blog 🙂
Note i could have used a dash of bread improver.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you!
Angelique
It could just be because I have baby brain at the moment, but I didn’t see any instructions for baking the actual cake.
Angelique
Never mind, just found it ?
Cathy
Hi! Is it ok to use all purpose flour instead of bread flour that it’s called for? I never buy bread flour and most of the time i only have all purpose flour on hand. Been wanting to try this after my husband and i had this cake at our friend’s dinner party. Thank u for this recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley
You need bread flour for this recipe. I’m not sure what adjustments need to be made if you use all purpose,
Lynna
My husband has been talking about Bienenstich for some time, but we can’t find it at a local deli. I made this recipe, and it tastes excellent. I just have one question: when I took my brioche out of the oven, it was amazing-looking. It was high, golden, and smelled fantastic. After it came out it fell a little, but nothing dramatic. After removing the spring pan sides (I left the base), it fell quite a bit more. I follwed the instructions faithfully, it was cooked completely, and the texture of the brioche is wonderful. Any suggestions? I was wondering if my gas oven is maybe off a bit. Could that be it?
Janet
I have a Bee Sting recipe but always have trouble with the cake falling when I add the almond-honey mixture. What can I do to prevent this?
Chef Dennis Littley
I would suggest trying this recipe and following the directions closely, since the recipe you have doesn’t work
Loretta
I can’t wait to try this! I want to make it for Thanksgiving so I should do a trial run before then. I hope I have the time. Either way, this will be coming out of my kitchen some time in the next 2 months for sure. I remember this cake fondly. When I was growing up it was always a special occasion when the Beehive cake showed up (of course mom always said it in German). It always came in squares from a professional bakery so I can”t wait to try a homemade version I’ll try to remember to come back to rate it..
Amy
I made the custard and baked the cake in advance, let them cool overnight (custard in the fridge and cake on the counter) and assembled it the next morning. I followed the recipe exactly and the results were beautiful and delicious. Honey and butter are scrumptious separately, but together – wow!
I do have one question: in the dough’s final stage of rising, how puffed should it be before you top it with the honey-almond mixture and bake? Double the volume? I used your trick of setting the dough in the pre-warmed the oven and let it rise for an hour and the pan nearly overflowed. Once I removed the saran wrap, however, the dough collapsed some.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Jordan
I’ve been experimenting with a whole bunch of different brioche and beesting recipes over the last week or so, and I just found yours this morning. I made it today and both the dough and the whole cake have turned out the best of the lot! Thankyou so much for an excellent, easy to follow recipe! I’m selling the beesting in my cafe tomorrow- hopefully everyone enjoys this German treat. Cheers Deb.
Dana
Making this for my husband’s birthday tomorrow. It is his favorite cake. Thanks for laying out all the steps so nicely. This is one of the more difficult desserts I’ve attempted and I feel like I’ve been pretty successful thus far!
Benay
I come from a full blooded Italian family and growing up, the Bee Hive Cake was very popular at all the family doings (birthdays, anniversaries, and religious occasions). It’s also one of my mother’s favorite cakes. I came across this recipe and decided to make it for her 93rd birthday over the weekend. I always like to make extra so I used an 18″ spring form pan and doubled the dough and tripled the custard and topping. The outcome was fabulous – everyone loved it and it tasted exactly as I remember it as a child and I’m now 61 years old. Thank you for your recipe.
dee
I don’t like almonds at all…everyone else in my family does… so I’m thinking about making this with 1/2 of the topping with and 1/2 of the topping without almonds. …noticed I didn’t say just a little without almond..
I have every intention of eating 1/2 of this cake. ..
Ray
Spent the last two days assiting my daughter in making this for a project in her German class. We had great time. I really enjoyed the results. Thanks
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the feedback Ray, I’m happy to hear you and your daughter had fun making the cake!
erin friedman
When I was staying in Germany with my daughter, we saw this cake in the bakery display case. “Bitte, wie sagen Sie das?” Many questionable looks later, we had our piece – it was outstanding – so very German. Thanks for the recipe.
Julie B
This cake is absolutely device! I’m an inexperienced baker, this was my first time using yeast to leaven anything. I have also never made a pastry cream before. I believe this cake took my German grandmother back to her childhood, when she worked in her father’s bakery. I made the brioche dough and pastry cream the day before. This is almost a requirement. However, the pastry cream became a gelatinous blob in the fridge overnight. Next time, I will probably omit the flour. To salvage my cream, I added about a tablespoon of honey, and a little bit of Maker’s Nark bourbon. I added very little bourbon to cut the sweetness, but not enough that it was obvious. Great recipe. I had to hide the last slice for Grandma to enjoy with her morning coffee. This is fancy and rich enough for a special occasion. It is definitely worth the time to prepare.
Foodiewife
Thanks, Julie B! So glad you had success. Your tweaks sound wonderful.
Melissa Ang
Thank you very much for this recipe. This is my husbands most missed dessert from our time spent living in the southern region of Bavaria. Since leaving active duty service he’s been having a hard year getting settled into civilian life ; trying to find work, birth of twins , medical issues etc, and I would like to make this for him as a surprise for Christmas and hopefully bring a small smile to his face. Your recipe is the only one which looks and sounds exactly like the one we would get from our local bakery – I can’t wait to make it and taste it. Again thank you very much for your time and effort into putting this delicious recipe out there – so many people will fall in love with it if they just try it once!
Foodiewife
What a sweet story! I do hope you find this to be the recipe you were looking for. Merry Christmas!
Emily
Fantastic! Almost gave up as my dough hardly rose. Granted I only gave it about 3 hours to do the job. Stuck in the oven anyway and it practically rose to a large rounded cake size. The combination was perfect. Used fynbos honey as am from South Africa. This honey is incredibly fragrant and spicy and people commented how interesting and delicious the honey was. Thanks for this recipe it’s a keeper x
Emily
Ps stuck all of the bread ingredients straight into my bread maker on the pizza dough setting – totally lazy and it worked perfectly x
Foodiewife
Wow! That’s a great success story!
Foodiewife
Thanks for the positive feedback. Once Christmas has settled down, I’m making this again.
Foodiewife
Thank you so much for reviewing my recipe! I’m so glad that you liked it. It is easy to make, isn’t it?
sanam
I had been drooling over this recipe for a few days until I finally found the time to make it, and it has got to be the most professional-looking thing I’ve made. I didn’t know how to make bread so I was really nervous it wouldn’t turn out fine, but it did and it was amazing. Thank you so much!
Roz
what an awesome cake with great memories Dennis and Debby! Happy Thanksgiving to both of you! You’re both wonderful friends that I am thankful for!
All the best,
Roz
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
This cake looks almost simple and there are so many things going on. The idea of brioche filled with pastry cream and that honey topping just blew my hat off! I think brioche is one of the best doughs ever invented. This cake is just amazing! A wonderful guest post both of you!
Kimby
I agree with Chef Dennis… prolonged torture… of the best kind! (Anticipation is worth the wait.) Love that this isn’t very sweet, except for the honey almonds… and the beautiful memories you shared of your “Oma.” Thanks for a lovely guest post, Debby! And thanks, Dennis, for your sentiments on blogging friendships. 🙂
itsmejanno
Thanks for your quick response. It’s not a problem, mistakes happen. I’m gonna give this cake another go with the changes made. It looks too good to give up on!
itsmejanno
I am in the process of making this cake which looks amazing, but I have a question about the cake part, it says 1/3 c. honey plus 1 T. I see where you mix the 1 T. honey with the milk, but did not see anything about the remaining 1/3. Since I had already started, I ended up just adding the 1/3 c. honey to my batter along with the eggs, etc. My dough did not form a ball at all and remained slightly sticky which I suppose is from me adding the honey. I added more flour a little at a time but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Since I’ve already started I’m going to carry on and hope for the best, but could you please advise me here should I decide to try this again.
Foodiewife
Oh, dear! I’m so sorry you had trouble with the recipe, and so I re-read the directions– hoping I hadn’t let out an important step. I used 1 tsp of the honey, with the milk, as my insurance that the yeast was good. The remaining honey is melted with the butter, on the stovetop. Off heat, the almonds are stirred in and the poured all over the dough. If you look at the step-by-step photos, it should make more sense. Just remember, the dough will be a bit sticky, as you are not adding a lot of bread. That’s why I suggest flouring your hands, while shaping the dough. I do hope that the cake turns out for you. Please, feel free to email me at foodiewife@gmail.com if I can help you along the way.
Foodiewife
I see the problem, and please accept my humble apologies. I will write to Chef Dennis to omit the 1/3 cup honey under the dough ingredients. I am so sorry… that was for the topping. Mea Culpa.
Lynn
Wow Deb, great post, pics and recipe! Having German roots, I have a few favorite baked items from the old world I like to make. My mom is coming for the holidays and I’m definitely making this! Always fun to discover new bloggers, look forward to following you!
Foodiewife
Hi Lynn! Thanks for your email! I’d love to know what German recipes you have to share. My mother didn’t keep a recipe card, so I am trying to recreate her recipes from my childhood memory– which is getting a little fuzzier, each year! LOL
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
Ooooh this cake looks TO DIE FOR! I love a Feast for Eyes 🙂
Anne P @ Webicurean
This cake looks amazing! Debby–It was such a pleasure meeting you at FoodBuzz this year. Even though FoodBuzz didn’t provide speakers/panels/workshops or stuff like that, it was still fun to break bread and party with other bloggers. Beth was right though–we had the best table at the cocktail party!
Foodiewife
We sure did have a lot of fun, at our cocktail group, didn’t we? I’m so glad that we reconnected!
fatpiginthemarket
Beautiful cake and I love the name! I think I’m going to make this for Christmas when my husband and I visit his German mother. Please tell me it has friendly visit vibes in it! I wonder if she’ll have strong memories of this and I’m betting she will since her father was a total cake lover. Thanks!
Foodiewife
I think your German MIL will be thrilled, if you make this. Bring some good German/dark roast coffee and you’ll hit it outside the ballpark! Good luck!
Susie Ladra
With those fabulous pictures, anyone could follow this step-by-step recipe no matter the prior cooking history — and be totally encouraged along the way that this masterpiece could actually end up in their personal kitchen!
Foodiewife
Thanks, Susie! I hope that my photos will encourage bakers, of any level, to try.
RavieNomNoms
Wow that looks phenomenal!
Heather @ Bake, Run, Live
Oh this looks delicious! I think it will be a perfect item for my Christmas brunch!
Foodiewife
I’ll be making this for Christmas morning, too!
Muna Kenny
This is a must try cake, I love the honey and butter combination, The images are so tempting I might actually bake this cake today.
Thanks for this beautiful guest post.
Foodiewife
Thank you so much! If you do bake this cake, I’d love to know how it turned out for you!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love.
I love the name of this cake! And it looks just wonderful!
Marie
Put the dark roast on Deb, I’m coming over! So true, all Deb’s recipes are drool worthy!
Foodiewife
Muwaaaaaah, Marie! There’s a setting for you, at my table. You know I love your recipes, too!
anna
what a fabulous cake! i think i ate something like this in france, though not so lovely and layered. that honey topping is to die for!
Foodiewife
Anna, I recently ate a slice of this at a French bakery. They call is Beehive cake. Either way, it’s one of my all-time favorite coffee cakes.
Taking On Magazines
Oh my goodness. You see, this is why I don’t like chocolate; there are so many more amazing sweet treat combinations to explore. I could just dive into this cake, it looks so amazing. I agree without even tasting it that the honey-almond topping takes it over the top. It looks fantastic.
Foodiewife
I like chocolate, but am a bigger fan of caramel and “chewy” sweets. You are so right, this topping really hits the sweet spot!
Foodiewife
Thank you, Chef Dennis, for the honor of calling you my Blogger Friend. I love your blog, and I am thrilled to be a guest in your own kitchen!
Estie Oliver
Wow, did the real ‘Foodiewife’ write that comment?! How wonderful! I always thought those who cook this beautifully wouldn’t bother with the rest of us! Thanks! Haven’t rated this yet as I’ll make it on the weekend, but think I’ll have to do this instead of the apple cake I had in mind.
Cher
As always, another great guest post by a “new to me” blogger.
Foodiewife
Hi Cher, and thank you!