Baking for the Holidays

Second only to Christmas, there is almost no better holiday for baking, than Easter.  There are beautiful cupcakes, breads and, cakes to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth!  And of course, they will have to be displayed just right. Let me share some ideas, how to accomplish all of that.

I love the Hearth & Hand with Magnolia from Chip and Joanna Gaines kitchen & dining series. She has this wonderful 2-tier wood & metal cake stands, that will display any cupcakes perfectly for them to be noticed on any buffet. I personally really like the covered pedestal cake stand that will show off anyone’s baking skills, and protect the baked goods until they are ready to be served.

I’d like to share a recipe from my home country of Germany that will really impress your guests. I like to bake, although I have to admit I am not a brilliant baker, but I enjoy it a lot. And honestly, I usually don’t need a holiday to bring out the baking pans.

In many regions throughout Germany, it is a tradition to bake on Saturday to enjoy coffee and cake with family and friends on Sunday afternoon. When I bake, and the scent of home baked pastries or cakes is filling my home, I am always reminded of times when I still lived at home with my parents and siblings. On Saturday afternoons, my Mom would be baking for Sunday, and the sweet scents of vanilla, almond and other spices would fill the house. Come Sunday, we often had relatives or friends over to share cake, and coffee.

Although when you think of German cakes you may immediately think of the famous Black Forest cake, but there are many cakes to choose from. German baked goods are very exquisite, although they are not nearly as rich as some American cakes, they are very flavorful and each of them have their own character.

Photo by Jasmin Weigand

One of an all-time favorite in Germany is the “Bienenstich”, which translates to Bee Sting cake. I have a few recipes that have been passed down in my family, which I like to share with you. Below is one of them, I still make it to today, so I can share it with friends and family on different occasions. The cake is a two-part cake, and the dough part is firm with the almonds on top, and filled with a nice pudding based white fluffy filling. Here are some pictures of one we recently made, isn’t it beautiful.

The cake is a two-part cake, the dough base creates one part and the pudding filling is the other part. All together this cake is made in six steps.

Print Recipe

German Bee Sting Cake

Recipe for a traditional German cake called Bienenstich.  Which translates to Bee Sting cake.

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Rising Time30 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: German

Keyword: #germancakes, beestingcake, bienenstich, cakes

Servings: 12 slices

Calories: 316kcal

Ingredients

Dough

• 14.1 oz wheat flour (400 gram)
• 3.5 oz spelt flout (100 gram)
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 egg
• 8.5 liquid oz lukewarm milk (250 ml)
• 3.5 oz melted, cooled unsalted butter (100 gram)

Cake Layer

• 4.4 oz butter (125 gram)
• 4.4 oz honey (125 gram)
• 7 oz sliced almonds (200 gram)
• 2 heaped tbs wheat flour

Pudding Filling

• 2 packs vanilla flavored pudding mixes
• 2.6 oz regular sugar (75 gram)
• 25 liquid oz milk (750 ml)
• 8.8 oz heavy cream (250 gram)
• 1 pack Dr. Oetker Whip it whip cream stabilizer

Instructions

Step 1 - Prepare the dough

• In a mixing bowl add the wheat flour and the spelt and mix together by hand, add the dried yeast and carefully mix with the flour. Add the remaining dough ingredients, mix using a hand mixer or Kitchen Aid with a kneading attachment on a low setting. Switch to a high setting and knead thoroughly for at least 5 minutes. Cover the mixing bowl, and set it in a warm space without a draft to let the dough rise, approximately 20-30 minutes. The dough will be done, when it has reached almost double its size.
  

Step 2 - Make the topping

•  On the stove top, heat the butter and the honey stirring continuously. Add the sliced almonds and the wheat flour, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool, stirring occasionally 

Step 3 - Prepare for baking

• Preheat oven – 392 Fahrenheit (200 Grad)

  Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead is thoroughly on a work surface. Roll the it out onto a baking sheet, and spread the honey and almond filling mixture evenly across it. Let sit in a warm, non-drafty place until well risen. This is a second rise, and will take approximately 10-15 minutes.  

Step 4 - Baking

• Bake the dough in preheated to 392 Fahrenheit (200 Grad) for 15-20 minutes, monitor the cake until the almonds are starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Once the dough is cooled, slice it horizontally and set aside onto a non-stick surface.

Step 5 - Prepare the filling

• Prepare the pudding as instructed on the packet. Let the pudding cool, stirring occasionally to prevent building a film on top. Beat the heavy cream with the cream stiffener until stiff, then fold into the cold pudding. 

Step 6 - Assemble the cake

• Now, spread the pudding filling evenly on the bottom part of the horizontally sliced dough cake (described in step 4). Then lay the top piece of the dough portion on top of the cream filling, almonds facing up.

Notes

 

 

 

That’s all there is to it!  Now your beautiful Bee Sting cake is finished and ready to share with your friends and family. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Enjoy.