Bee Sting cake

To celebrate entering the official middle of my mid 40s (how has it already been 4 months...), let's throw it wayyyy back to a birthday cake I made myself for my 41st birthday. It's bienenstich, or bee sting cake, a sweet yeasted dough topped with caramelized almonds and filled with vanilla custard. 

It's not a secret that it's been pretty quiet here since 2020, but HOLY COW I can't believe I made this cake 4 years ago. Here's a bonus picture on my birthday that year with my cat Frankie. Miss her snuggles! 

I decided to make myself this Bee Sting cake because (a) I like to take on fun baking projects during mid February when its so cold outside and (b) it is composed of 2 of my 3 favorite elements when it comes to desserts: creamy and carby (my last favorite element is citrusy).

The cake portion is actually more like a yeasted sweet bread, but when you throw in the sweet caramelized almonds on top along with the creamy custard, its a perfect match! 

I must say, this cake was much better to me the day I made it (the cake portion had dried out a bit the next day), so that's a bit of a pain when planning out logistics. But if you have an evening celebration and the morning free, this is such a unique and delicious treat to share!

One thing to make sure is to bake this cake on top of a cookie sheet, because you're likely to get some sugar spillage going on.

But fear not! The cake will come out of your pan without any issues, ready to be split and filled with custard.

Yours in making her own birthday cakes for life,
Jacqueline

Bee Sting Cake, from Smitten Kitchen

Notes: This recipe will be best made the day you are serving, as the cake portion will dry out a bit overnight. Just note the rising, cooking, and cooling times below to make sure you've built in enough time. If you'd like to prepare a few elements in advance, you can make the pastry cream up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate (just whip it up slightly to make it spreadable again before using). Smitten Kitchen also says you can make the batter the night before, and let it do its final rise in the cake pan in the fridge overnight. Bring it back to room temperature before adding the almond topping and baking it.

Fillings of the bee sting cake tend to vary a bit, with this one being on the thicker, custard-y side. Other recipes out there use a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream (eg, crème légère or diplomat cream), which I think I might prefer, so you can get even more filling in there! This All Recipes bee sting pastry cream actually sounds like it would make a great version of that style filling. 

Ingredients

Cake

2 ¼ tsp (or 1 ¼-ounce package) instant or rapid rise yeast (not active dry) 
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
¾ tsp table salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature

Honey-Almond-Crunch Topping

6 TBSP unsalted butter, cold is fine
⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 TBSP honey
2 TBSP heavy cream
2 pinches of sea salt
1 ½ cups (4 ¾ ounces) sliced almonds    

Pastry Cream Filling (see note)

1 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or ¼ tsp almond extract
3 large egg yolks
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch (can use flour)
2 pinches sea salt
2 TBSP unsalted butter, cold is fine

Directions

1. Mix cake (1st rise): In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Stir until the mixture becomes cohesive, then stir for an additional 2 minutes. In a stand mixer, you can mix this with the paddle attachment (no dough hook needed; batter is thin) at low-medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place for 60 minutes, until it’s puffed a bit. (It won’t fully double.)
2. Prepare cake (2nd rise): Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Stir the batter a few times to deflate it slightly, then scrape it into the prepared pan and nudge it until it fills the bottom. Cover again with plastic wrap (don’t let it drape in and touch the top) and set aside for another 30 minutes.
3. Prepare honey-almond-crunch topping: In a small or medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter, sugar, honey, cream, and salt until the butter is melted. Bring to a simmer and let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture becomes a shade darker (from yellowish tone to light beige). Stir in the almonds (the mixture will be thick). Set it aside to cool slightly.
4. Preheat oven: Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
5. Prepare cake with almonds: Once the cake has finished its second rise (again, it will not have risen much) use a small spoon to portion small amounts of the almond topping and distribute over the top of the cake. It will be a bit challenging as the almond topping is firm, but even if its not evenly distributed it will smooth out in the oven. 
6. Bake cake: Bake cake on a foil-lined tray to catch any caramel drips, for 20 to 25 minutes, until top is bronzed and toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free. Transfer cake to a cooling rack and let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife along the outside of the cake, making sure no places are stuck and invert the cake onto the cooling rack. Flip the cake it back onto another rack (almond-side up) to finish cooling, replacing any almonds that fell off right back on top. 
7. Make pastry cream: Warm milk in a medium saucepan (ideally a saucier), transfer into a small measuring cup, and set aside. Rinse saucepan with cool water and wipe to dry. Off the heat in the cooled saucepan, whisk the yolks and sugar vigorously together for a minute, until pale and ribbony. Whisk in cornstarch and salt until smooth. Drizzle in warm milk mixture, a spoonful at a time, whisking the whole time. Once half of the milk had been added, you can add the rest in a more steady stream, whisking the whole time. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook on medium-high heat until it bubbles, then simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, more whisking the whole time. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and any extracts you may be using. Cool custard completely before using. (To speed up this process you can cover the custard with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.) 
8. Assemble the cake: Once both the cake and pastry cream are fully cooled, place the cake on a serving platter and divide it horizontally into two layers with a long serrated knife. Spread pastry cream over bottom half. Place top half on pastry cream. Serve in wedges; watch out for bees. Refrigerate any leftovers.