Besides the fluffiness, Bee sting cake (Bienenstich) is sweet and rich with almond toffee topping and pastry cream.
Bee sting cake (Bienenstich) is a traditional German dessert made from sweet and soft bread (brioche-style) topped with sweet almond toffee and filled with pastry cream or pudding.
Well, there are many versions of the beginning of the name. But I like the one that said that a bee was attracted to the sweet honey topping, this dessert is called came Bee sting cake (or another version is The baker who invented the cake was stung by the bee, haha).
Anyway, the thing that I know is it's delicious.
This time I use rich and thick pastry cream for the filling (as I want it to be firm enough to stay in place), but if you want lighter filling you can fold 150 of the whipped cream into the pastry cream before using it.
Bee sting cake (Bienenstich)
Makes 10 cakes
Brioche
150 g ..................... Bread Flour
4 g ..................... Instant yeast
45 g ..................... Granulated sugar
150 g ..................... Cake Flour
4 g ..................... Salt
130 g ..................... Milk
80 g ..................... Eggs
60 g ..................... Unsalted butter
Pastry Cream
3 ..................... Egg yolks
90 g ..................... Granulated sugar
20 g .....................Cake flour
25 g ..................... Cornstarch
1/4 tsp ..................... Salt
360 g ..................... Milk
30 g ..................... Unsalted butter
Almond topping
150 g ..................... Water
150 g ..................... Granulated sugar
150 g ..................... Honey
............................. Pinch of Salt
150 g ..................... Whipping cream
180 g ..................... Sliced almonds
1 tbsp ..................... Rice bran oil
Put the bread flour, sugar, instant yeast, cake flour, and salt into a bowl of a stand mixer. Mix at low speed to combine.
Pour the milk and egg into the bowl.
Knead at medium high speed (for Bosch MUM2, I use speed 3). Knead for 8 minutes.
Add the butter and knead at medium high speed (for Bosch MUM2, I use speed 3). Knead for 6 minutes.
Remove from the bowl.
Form the dough into a ball. Brush a bowl with unsalted butter, place the dough into the pan, and cover with plastic.
Let it rise for 1 hour.
Put the corn starch and cake flour into the saucepan and whisk to combine.
Heat the milk in a microwave (600W) for 2-2.30 minutes.
Gradually add the warm milk into the saucepan.
Place the mixture over low heat stir until thickened.
Pass the pastry cream through a sieve.
Mix in the butter.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream and let it cool completely (or about 25℃).
Put the water, honey, and sugar into a saucepan. Place over medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the whipping cream into the saucepan and stir to combine.
Place the saucepan over low heat. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
Let it cool before using.
When the brioche dough is ready, cut into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
Pat the dough into 9 cm round.
Before baking, pour the almond topping the buns and spread to level it.
Rest for 15 minutes before shaping.
Brushed 10 of 9 x 3 cm pans with butter and line the side of the pans with baking paper.
Place the shaped dough into the prepared pan.
Cover and let it rise for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 200℃.
Bake in the 200℃ preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.
Let the brioche cool into the pans for 5 minutes.
Remove from the pan and drizzle the top of the brioche with the caramel from the pans.
Let the brioche cool completely before filling.
Cut the brioche and fill with the pastry cream.
Ready to enjoy!!
Bee sting cake (Bienenstich)