Bee Sting Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- For the Yeast Dough:
- 250 g plain flour
- 7 g instant yeast
- 40 g caster sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 120 ml whole milk, lukewarm
- 1 medium egg, at room temperature
- 50 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the Honey Almond Topping:
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 60 g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons double cream
- 100 g flaked almonds
- A small pinch of salt
- For the Vanilla Cream Filling:
- 400 ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 80 g caster sugar
- 35 g cornflour
- 3 medium egg yolks
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 200 ml double cream, cold
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the Yeast Dough
- 2
Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir briefly to combine.
- 3
Add the lukewarm milk, egg, softened butter and vanilla extract. Mix until the ingredients come together to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- 4
Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or for 6 to 8 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, until it becomes smooth and elastic. The dough will remain fairly soft, so avoid adding too much extra flour.
- 5
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave it to rise in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes, or until approximately doubled in size.
- 6
Lightly grease a 23 cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
- 7
Gently deflate the risen dough and press it evenly over the base of the prepared tin. Cover the tin and leave the dough to rise again for approximately 30 minutes.
- 8
Prepare the Honey Almond Topping
- 9
Place the butter, sugar, honey, double cream and salt in a small saucepan.
- 10
Heat gently, stirring until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and allow it to cook for approximately 1 minute.
- 11
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the flaked almonds. Leave the topping to cool for approximately 5 minutes.
- 12
Carefully spoon the almond mixture over the risen dough, spreading it evenly without pressing down heavily.
- 13
Bake the Cake
- 14
Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional or 160°C fan.
- 15
Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the almond topping is golden brown and the cake is cooked through.
- 16
Check the cake towards the end of the baking time, as the honey and sugar topping can brown quickly. If the almonds are becoming too dark, loosely cover the top with aluminium foil.
- 17
Leave the cake in the tin for approximately 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge before removing the side of the springform tin.
- 18
Transfer the cake to a wire rack and leave it to cool completely.
- 19
Prepare the Vanilla Cream Filling
- 20
Place the milk and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat gently until the milk is steaming but not boiling.
- 21
In a heatproof bowl, whisk the caster sugar, cornflour and egg yolks together until smooth.
- 22
Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously.
- 23
Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and begins to bubble.
- 24
Continue cooking for approximately 1 minute, then remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter.
- 25
Transfer the custard to a shallow bowl. Place a piece of cling film directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming and leave it to cool completely.
- 26
Whip the cold double cream until it holds medium peaks.
- 27
Stir the cooled custard until smooth, then gently fold in the whipped cream until evenly combined.
- 28
Assemble the Bee Sting Cake
- 29
Use a long serrated knife to cut the cooled cake horizontally into 2 even layers.
- 30
Before lifting away the top layer, cut it into 10 or 12 individual wedges. Cutting the crisp almond layer in advance makes the assembled cake much easier to portion without pressing down on the cream filling.
- 31
Place the bottom cake layer on a serving plate.
- 32
Spread the vanilla cream filling evenly over the cake, leaving a small border around the edge.
- 33
Arrange the almond-topped wedges over the cream, fitting them together to recreate the top of the cake.
- 34
Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 1 hour before serving so that the filling has time to set.
