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    Home » Recipes » Cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes

    German bee sting cake (bienenstich)

    Published: Sep 15, 2020 · Modified: Jun 16, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    This recipe for German bee sting cake (bienenstich) has it all. Crunchy honey and almond topping, with a deliciously creamy creme patissiere filling, sandwiched between layers of soft spongy yeast cake. And best of all, it's so easy to make. Try it for yourself - you won't be disappointed!

    An side on view of a bee sting cake showing the rise of the cake, the filling and the crunch almond topping.
    Jump to:
    • German bee sting cake (bienenstich)
    • What is a bee sting cake?
    • How to make a German Bee Sting cake
    • Storing the cake
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    German bee sting cake (bienenstich)

    My parents emigrated to South Africa from England back in the early 60s, when there was a call for qualified engineers to work in the growing engineering industry over there. The town we lived in was very cosmopolitan, due to the large number of immigrants from all over Europe.

    One enterprising German family set up a delicatessen, selling delicious German food, which was so different to the other shops around town. I used to go with my Dad (who was born in Germany) on a Saturday morning to pick up our weekly shop. Crusty German bread rolls, and tubs of German meat salad for Saturday lunch, sauerkraut and pickled herrings (for my Dad!), and crispy Eisbein or juicy wiener schnitzels for supper.

    We'd never come away without buying a cake - black forest gateau, on which I have loosely based my black forest trifle or my favourite, the traditional German bee sting cake (bienenstich). Legend has it that the bee sting cake got its name when a swarm of bees was attracted by the honey and the unfortunate baker got stung.

    What is a bee sting cake?

    A German bee sting cake is made with a yeast-based batter, topped with a crunchy honey/almond praline and filled with the sweetest, most delicious creme patissiere filling. The texture of the cake is quite dense, more like a doughnut than an actual cake. And the cake itself is not very sweet. However, this is more than made up for by the sweetness of the topping and the creme patissiere filling.

    I've been experimenting with making my own German bee sting cake, and it's now at the stage where I feel confident enough with the recipe to share it with you. It's quite an easy recipe to make. Even though the cake contains yeast, there's no kneading involved - it's just mix and bake. You do need to allow quite a lot of time for the dough to rise and proof though - 3 hours in total - so I normally start this cake off in the morning.

    If you are looking for a slightly different cake to treat the family, why not try this bee sting cake? You won't be disappointed.

    A slice of bee sting cake on a plate next to a fork. This shows the texture of the cake.

    How to make a German Bee Sting cake

    You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this German bee sting cake on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

    There are three components to this cake - the topping, the creme patissiere filling and the cake itself. Let's take them each in turn.

    The topping

    For the topping, you will need butter, sugar, honey, double (or whipping) cream and some flaked almonds.

    It's very simple to make, you just boil everything (except the almonds) together, let it cool slightly and then stir in the almonds.

    Steps for making the crunchy almond topping.

    When boiling the ingredients you don't want to over-boil otherwise the topping will harden too much and you will find it difficult to spread on top of the cake. Just boil for 3 minutes to give the syrup a head start. It will continue cooking once it has been put on the cake and this will finish off the hardening process.

    The cake batter

    For the batter, you will need flour, yeast, sugar, butter, eggs and milk.

    The yeast is instant yeast that you can buy in packets, each containing 7g of granules. For my US readers, 7g of instant yeast is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon.

    There is also not a lot of sugar in this cake, only ¼ of a cup. This is not a mistake in the recipe, it's not supposed to be too sweet. The sweetness will be provided by the creme patissiere.

    Mixing the cake is a simple process, and if you have a stand mixer or even an electric hand whisk it is even easier. If you don't have either of these, you can still mix the cake using a wooden spoon, but be prepared for quite a lot of beating.

    Steps for mixing the batter.

    Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a normal mixing bowl) then add the eggs and milk.

    Using the paddle attachment beat the ingredients for about 3 minutes until they all come together in a soft thick batter, and the butter has been completely incorporated. If you don't have a stand mixer, just beat with a wooden spoon for as long as it takes 🙂 If you allow the butter to come to room temperature first it will be much easier to incorporate.

    The result will be a thick sticky dough.

    Leave to rise

    Cover the mixing bowl with a layer of cling film or plastic wrap and then cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours to rise. Note this dough does not double in size when rising, but it will rise.

    Steps for add adding the batter to the baking pan and covering with topping.

    Image 1 above shows the risen dough. You will see how spongy the dough has become if you draw a spoon across the top of the dough.

    Now transfer the dough to a well-greased 9" springform cake pan. You can bake this in a square baking pan too if you prefer, but it will be more difficult to get the baked cake out of a square pan.

    Using a metal spoon, spread the dough evenly in the cake pan. This dough has a mind of its own and it is quite difficult to spread evenly. It will also look as though there isn't enough dough to make a thick cake. Don't stress about this, the next step is to leave the dough covered as before in a warm place for another hour. During this time the dough will even itself out and rise to at least halfway up the pan. Once it bakes it will rise even higher filling the pan completely.

    Overhead shot of a slice of bee sting cake cut from the whole cake.

    Add the topping

    Once the dough has risen, cover it with the topping. Now this is quite a tricky step. The dough is very soft and if you all tip the almonds on at once, they will sink through the dough to the bottom of the tin.

    I have found that the easiest way to get the almonds on the batter is to take a few almonds in a spoon and scrape them carefully off the spoon onto the batter. Do this until the cake is completely covered.

    Bake the bee sting cake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for 25 minutes until a thin wooden skewer or a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out cleanly, with no batter on it.

    Keep your eye on the cake. All ovens are different. Mine was completely cooked after 25 minutes. You may need to test for doneness one or two minutes before that.

    Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely before filling with the creme patissiere.

    Note - the top of the baked cake may be slightly uneven. This is due to the topping that was added before baking. Also, some of the almonds may have sunk below the surface, but this just enhances the flavour of the cake.

    Overhead shot of baked bee sting cake in a baking tin.

    To remove from the pan

    To remove the bee sting cake from the pan, carefully release the lever on the side of the springform pan. Remove the ring part and then carefully use a spatula to help you move the cake from the base to a serving dish.

    Slightly angled shot of a bee sting cake showing the cruncy topping.

    The creme patissiere

    For this, you will need 3 egg yolks. You can use the white to make these delicious coconut meringue topped jam tarts. You will also need sugar, flour, cornflour or cornstarch, milk, vanilla extract and double or whipping cream.

    Steps for mixing the custard.

    Beat the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and frothy, then whisk in the flour and cornflour/cornstarch.

    Bring the milk, sugar and vanilla extract to a boil and pour half of the milk into the egg and flour mixture. Whisk well to remove any lumps, then pour the egg back into the remaining milk. Keep stirring over a low heat until the mixture thickens. It should be very thick (see image 4 above).

    Allow to cool then place into the refrigerator until well chilled.

    Steps for mixing cream with the custard.

    Whip the cream until it thickens, then mix the cream into the cooled custard until well combined.

    Assemble the cake

    Take the cooled cake and carefully cut in half through the centre with a serrated knife.

    A cake cut in half and spread with creme patissiere

    Spread all the creme patissiere evenly across the bottom half of the cake, then replace the other half back on top.

    Side on view of the bee sting cake, showing the rise.

    Serve and enjoy!

    Tip - to make the cake easier to slice, so that the filling does not squish out when you slice into the cake, cut the top layer into wedges before replacing it on top.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Storing the cake

    Bee sting cake is best eaten fresh.

    Because of the cream in the filling, it should be stored in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

    After that, due to the yeast content, the cake will start to dry out.

    Save for later

    Why not pin this recipe for bee sting cake to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

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    📋The recipe

    An side on view of a bee sting cake showing the rise of the cake, the filling and the crunchy almond topping.

    German Bee Sting Cake with a creamy creme patissiere filling

    This recipe for German bee sting cake (bienenstich) has it all. Crunchy honey and almond topping, with a deliciously creamy creme patissiere filling, sandwiched between layers of soft spongy yeast cake. And best of all, it’s so easy to make.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Baking
    German
    Calories 413
    Prep 30 minutes minutes
    Rising time 3 hours hours
    Cook 25 minutes minutes
    Total Time 3 hours hours 55 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 9 inch cake
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
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    5 from 3 votes

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Stand Mixer OR
    • Mixing bowl and wooden spoon
    • Small saucepan x 2
    • Small mixing bowl
    • Whisk
    • 9" springform pan

    Ingredients

    Cake Batter

    • 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
    • 1½ teaspoons (7g) instant yeast
    • ¼ cup (50g) sugar
    • 2 ounce (60g) butter
    • 2 large eggs
    • ¾ cup (180ml) milk

    Creme Patissiere

    • 3 large egg yolks
    • 6 tablespoons (65g) sugar
    • 1½ tablespoons (15g) flour
    • 1½ tablespoons (12g) cornflour / cornstarch
    • 1 cup (250ml) milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup double cream / whipping cream

    Honey Almond Topping

    • 4 tablespoons (2oz / 60g) butter
    • ¼ cup granulated white sugar
    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • ¼ cup double cream / whipping cream
    • 1 cup flaked almonds

    Instructions

    Topping

    • Place all the ingredients for the topping, with the exception of the almonds, in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted.
    • Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Continue stirring as the mixture boils for about 3 minutes. See note 1.
    • Remove from the heat an stir in the almonds.
    • Set aside to cool while you make the cake batter.

    Cake Batter

    • Measure all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, then blend for about 5 minutes, using the paddle attachment, until all the ingredients are well incorporated. The mixture will have the consistency of a very thick batter. See note 2.
    • Cover the bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap and a clean towel and leave in a warm place for at least 2 hours to rise. See note 3.
    • Once the batter has risen pour it into a greased 9" springform baking tin. Even the batter out as much as possible. See note 4. Leave to rise for a second time for about an hour.
    • After an hour, switch the oven on to 180°C/350°F to pre-heat
    • Carefully spoon the topping over the risen cake batter - see Note 5.
    • Bake in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out cleanly
    • Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

    Creme Patissiere

    • Beat the egg yolks until they are light and fluffy.
    • Stir in the flour and cornflour. The mixture will be quite thick.
    • Heat the milk, sugar and vanilla essence in a saucepan until it just comes to the boil.
    • Pour half of the hot milk into the egg and flour mixture and whisk well to remove any lumps, then pour the milk and egg back into the rest of the hot milk in the saucepan.
    • Whisk continuously over a low heat until the mixture thickens, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
    • Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then mix it through the cooled custard.

    Cake Assembly

    • Remove the cooled cake from the springform pan and carefully cut it in half through the centre with a serrated knife.
    • Spread the bottom half of the cake with the creme pattisiere, then carefully add the top half of the cake.

    Notes

    Note 1 - Do not allow the topping mixture to boil for too long or it will harden as it cools, which will make it difficult to spread on top of the cake.
    Note 2 - If you don't have a stand mixer you can incorporate all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon.  Just be prepared for a lot of arm exercise.
    Note 3 - This batter does not double in size, but it will rise.  Once risen it will look 'spongy' if you pull a spoon across the top of the batter.
    Note 4 - This batter is very sticky and has a mind of its own.  You may find it difficult to get the batter evenly in the pan.  Don't stress about this - just do the best you can.  The batter is going to be left to rise for a second time, so it will even itself out.
    Note 5 - The cake batter is very soft, so don't try to spread the almond mixture on top.  Instead, take small flat spoonfuls of the almonds and scrape them off the spoon onto the batter until the entire surface is covered.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 413kcal | Carbohydrates - 43.7g | Protein - 10.5g | Fat - 22.1g | Saturated Fat - 10g | Cholesterol - 124mg | Sodium - 125mg | Potassium - 116mg | Fiber - 1.8g | Sugar - 19.2g | Calcium - 78mg | Iron - 2mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

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