Bee Sting Cake (Beinenstich)

I’m in a book club where each of us picks a book each month to read.  Usually, it is fiction, and if you are Alison you will like it if it has a happy ending.  🙂 My friend this month chose “Eat Cake” by Jeanne Ray which was a really fun read and also included cake recipes in the back!  Plus, she had this crazy, awesome idea to have each of us bring a cake to book club that we made from the book.  Of course, being the nerdy rebel with 20 cakes already on my list to make, I made a Bee Sting Cake that was NOT in the book.  The cake tasted awesome – actually ALL the cakes tasted awesome.  I will be including photos and recipes of them all.

In other news, I signed up to sell Wildtree!  If you have read previous posts, you will note I have sold Pampered Chef in the past.  I really love my Pampered Chef stuff, but what to make with it?  And how can I find all this time to make all-natural food?  Therefore I signed up and hopefully will receive a goody box with my kit soon to hold some great tasting parties and meal workshops.

This recipe was on my list because of its ingredients.  It reminds me of baklava or the Mexican deep fried ice cream in restaurants.  The brioche cake is filled with vanilla pastry cream that is lightened with real whipped cream.  The almonds and honey on top really make the cake special.  Every review at King Arthur gives the cake 5 stars and after googling this cake I found out that it is often requested especially from those who have been to Germany and tried the real thing.

Bee Sting Cake (Beinenstich)
yield 2 cakes that serve 8 servings each

Dough:
2 and 1/4 cups (9.5 oz. King Arthur Flour or 11.25 oz regular) AP flour
1/4 cup (2 oz.) butter, soft
2 T (1 oz.) sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (2 oz.) water

Topping:
6 Tb. (3 oz.) butter
1/3 cup (2.5 oz) sugar
3 Tb. (2 oz.) honey
2 Tb. heavy cream
1 and 1/2 cups (4.75 oz) sliced almonds

Filling:
2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
2 Tb. cold water
1 cup heavy cream, whip to soft peaks
1 recipe of Pastry Cream
or
1 “Cheater’s Pastry Cream”: 3 oz. instant vanilla pudding whisked 2 minutes with 1 and 1/2 cup milk and 1 tsp. vanilla

1.  For the DOUGH:  You can do this the bread machine by putting in all the ingredients like the machine says and then use the “dough cycle.  I like this method and use it often.  If you don’t have a bread machine:  Mix everything up in a big bowl.  Knead for 5-8 minutes.  Place in a oiled bowl and rise 60 minutes.

2.  More DOUGH instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees!  Grease 2 – 8″ cake pans!  Gently press into the dough to relieve the gas.  Divide the dough in half (mine was 9 oz. per ball).  Stretch each dough ball into an 8″ circle.  Now, place each ball into the cake pans.  Cover the dough and let rise 20 minutes.  Push the dough to the edge of the pan.  Cover and rise 15 minutes as well.

3.  For the TOPPING:  Turn the stovetop to medium heat and in a saucepan, melt your 6 Tb of butter.  Once melted, put in the sugar, honey and cream.  Boil and allow to boil 3-5 minutes.  I found my topping hard… and went 4 minutes so next time I will try 3 minutes.  The color should be really light gold.  Take it off the heat.  Add in your almonds.  Fold those in.  Cool for a few minutes and put half the mixture on top of one 8” dough cake and the other half on top of the other cake.

4.  Bake 25-28 minutes.  Unless you are using dark colored pans, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 25-28 minutes.

5.  For the Flipping:  Let the cake cool enough that the topping will hold together when flipping.  20-30 minutes should do it.  Run a knife around the edge to help release the cake.  Now, flip the cake onto a plate.  Now, flip the upside-down cake onto another plate to make it right-side up.  COOL completely.

6.  For the FILLING:  In a small bowl, mix your cold water and gelatin.  Let that gel about 10-15 minutes.  Now, heat it low and slow.  I use the microwave for 7-10 seconds.  Now, it needs to cool a little bit.  You can whip your cream.  While the cream is whipping towards the end of the whipping, drizzle the liquid gelatin down the side of the bowl.  If the gel is too solid again, just throw it in the microwave for 4-7 seconds.

7.  More FILLING instructions:  Now that you have stabilized whipped cream, fold that into your pastry cream.

8.  Assembly:  Cut each of the cakes horizontally.  I use a long bread knife VERY carefully.  And make sure you give the topping a lot of room.  Next time, I should have made the cake more 60% top and 40% bottom instead of trying to cut it evenly in half.  Fill the bottom half with pastry cream mixture.  Top with the top and you’re done!  Eat now or store in the fridge!!

Recipe from King Arthur Flour