Bee sting cake, featuring a light and fluffy brioche with a honey almond topping, filled with vanilla pudding.
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honey almond brioche cake | bee sting cake
Hello hello! I’m here with one of my absolute favorite things to bake. This honey almond cake is super simple to make, but gives the impression that it wasn’t (the best type of dessert!) Light and fluffy brioche meets a crunchy honey almond topping, with a vanilla pudding filling. I call this honey almond brioche cake to be a little more descriptive for those who might be unaware of bee sting cake (and because I am not German – but this recipe is very much the essence of bee sting cake!) – so if you’re wondering what it is exactly, I’ll explain right below!
what is bee sting cake?
Bee sting cake (Bienenstich in German) is a German dessert that features soft and fluffy yeast bread, a crunchy honey almond topping, and a sweet vanilla bavarian cream. Now I know what you’re probably thinking – why is it called bee sting cake? The exact reasoning behind the name is unknown but the most common theory is that the baker who first made this cake was stung by a bee that was attracted to the honey topping!
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
line your pan tall with parchment paper
This brioche cake is not one that you want to flip upside down to get it out of the pan. (Trust me, I learned the hard way so you don’t have to!) Butter your pan, and get out a sheet of parchment paper. Crinkle up the parchment paper, then un-crinkle it and place it in your buttered pan, pressing the parchment up the sides of the pan. This will give you a way to lift the cake out of the pan so you can keep all of that delicious honey almond topping on it!
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for bee sting cake
brioche cake:
- Bread flour: for structure. I recommend bread flour because I think it produces a better dough, however, you can use an all purpose flour with a higher protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche.
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche rolls and giving them a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is a little variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
honey almond topping:
- Honey: sweetens, gives that delicious honey flavor, and creates that solid layer of honey almonds on top of the brioche cake.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the topping.
- Unsalted butter: for flavor and texture. You can use salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the topping.
- Salt: balances and brings out the sweetness and flavor of the topping.
- Ground cinnamon: optional, but I like adding it in for a little extra flavor. It pairs perfectly with the almond and honey.
- Sliced almonds: the star of the show!
cream filling:
- Vanilla pudding mix: a fast an easy way to make a very fake ‘bavarian’ cream. No cooking of eggs required! I know it’s not conventional, but trust me – it’s delicious and kind of like a “secret ingredient”.
- Heavy cream: thickens up the pudding so that it is a more pipeable consistency.
- Whole milk: used to dissolve the pudding mix. 1% or 2% will work great here as well.
- Ground cinnamon: for flavor! I highly recommend using a touch of cinnamon here but feel free to omit it if you would like.
how to make bee sting cake
Here’s a few pictures of what the bee sting cake looks like at various points during the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of this blog post.
- Knead all of the dough ingredients together, then let the dough rise until doubled in size.
- Flatten the dough into the bottom of an 8″ cake pan.
- Combine all of the topping ingredients in a small saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil, then mix in the almonds.
- Pour the topping over the brioche, then bake, fill, and enjoy!
bee sting cake recipe q&a
how to store bee sting cake
Is there anything better than fresh brioche? These will taste their best on the day that they are baked. Because the filling contains lots of heavy cream and milk, it does need to be refrigerated. I highly recommend only filling the slices that you plan on eating so that you can keep the cake out at room temperature, and the filling in the fridge. If making for an event, fill the cake just before you are ready to serve it.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two cake pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – instead of mixing the heated milk, sugar, and yeast together, just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Simply knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When ready to make the honey almond brioche cake simply take it out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
my yeast mixture isn’t foaming, what should I do?
The mixture should start foaming around 5 minutes in. If it has not foamed after 10 minutes, the yeast is likely dead. You want to make sure that the milk temperature does not exceed 110°F / 43°C or it will kill the yeast. If you try it again and it still does not foam, the yeast you are using may be expired and you will want to purchase some more before proceeding.
if the dough just isn’t coming together
I can’t recommend the use of a kitchen scale enough, especially for this super-hydrated dough. If you’ve been kneading and kneading and the dough still won’t come together, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time and knead for 2 minutes until the dough comes together. Please note that the dough at times has taken me up to 20 minutes to knead and pass the windowpane test!
tools and ingredients:
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other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Honey Almond Brioche Cake | Bee Sting Cake
Ingredients
Brioche Cake
- 80 g whole milk (⅓ c.)
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 160 g bread flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 egg room temperature
- 42 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp.) room temperature
Honey Almond Topping
- 80 g honey (¼ c.)
- 80 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 2 ½ tbsp.)
- 56 g unsalted butter (¼ c.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 115 g sliced almonds (1 ⅓ c.)
Cinnamon Vanilla Cream Filling
- 48 g instant vanilla pudding (½ of a 3.4 oz packet)
- 110 g heavy whipping cream (½ c.)
- 100 g whole milk (½ c.)
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
Brioche Cake
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, heat the milk to 100°F / 38°C. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar. Set aside until the mixture begins to foam. (~5 minutes)
- While waiting, add the flour, salt, egg, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add it in to the rest of the ingredients.
- Knead the mixture on medium-high speed for ~10-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
- Once the dough has doubled in size (or after taking it out of the fridge after rising overnight), lightly punch it down to remove excess air.
- Butter an 8" cake pan, and get out a sheet of parchment paper. Crinkle up the parchment paper, then un-crinkle it and place it in your buttered pan, pressing the parchment up the sides of the pan. This will give you a way to easily lift the cake out of the pan after it's done baking.
- Use your hands to push the dough down into the pan so that the dough is an 8" circle on the bottom of the pan. If the dough keeps snapping back, leave it to rest for 5 minutes before trying again. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in size (~30-45 min.)
- Once the dough has almost completely doubled in size, start with your topping and preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
Honey Almond Topping
- In a small saucepan, add the honey, sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon. Stir the mixture over medium heat and let it come to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and immediately stir in the almonds. Immediately pour the mixture over the brioche, working fast to spread it evenly along the top.
- Bake the bee sting cake at 350°F / 175°C for 15-20 minutes. Use a thermometer to check when the cake is done. (It should read 190°F / 88°C.)
Cinnamon Vanilla Cream Filling
- Add the instant pudding, heavy cream, milk, and cinnamon to a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes, then set it in the fridge until you are ready to fill the cake.
- Slice the cake – you are going to want to do this while it is still slightly warm! If the cake has cooled to room temperature, the topping is going to be hard to cut through. While the cake is still warm (but not too hot, please don't burn yourself!), use a serrated knife to slice the cake in half horizontally. Then, saw back and forth through the cake, cutting it into 8 equal slices.
- Distribute the filling amongst each slice, using a piping back or just a knife. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Absolutely love this recipe, I’ve made it twice now and it’s worked beautifully both times. If anyone’s curious, I made it vegan with really easy subs and it works really well. I replaced milk with soy milk, butter with Nuttelex buttery spread, egg with Orgran egg replacer. I’m not sure how widely available this is, but I replaced the heavy cream with Hadar non-dairy topping, and there are lots of vegan vanilla instant puddings out there. It sounds like a lot of changes, but the process and result is entirely the same! Thank you for the recipe and I will be making it again (many times).
Ah thank you so much! I’m so happy the recipe works for you with the modifications and appreciate you sharing them for others as well! 🙂
hi! I tried making this and I was wondering: for the dough… is it suppose to be so sticky when kneaded? How is the dough suppose to come out.. If the windowpane test does not work is it underkneaded or over?
Hi! The dough should only be a little tacky, but not sticky. If it’s super sticky & not passing the windowpane test then it’s under kneaded. If you aren’t using weight measurements or if it’s humid where you are, then I would try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time until the dough comes together – note that it has taken me up to 20 min. to knead in the mixer before. Hope this helps!
I made this and wow ! Your tips/Instructions were so helpful and easy to follow. Definitely keeping this recipe. It tasted so good !
I haven’t made this yet but I just have to commend you on how thorough your instructions are! And the q&a section is so helpful. I’ll definitely be making this soon and will come back and comment once I get to taste it 😋
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that my instructions & tips are helpful! Hope you love the recipe!