Recipe: German Bee Sting Cake with Sourdough – Bienenstich Torte
The sourdough cake layer has a similar consistency to a classic yeast dough. Nevertheless, the dough does not require any yeast or baking powder and is made with just sourdough. The Bienenstich cake is filled with a creamy custard filling made from whipped cream and vanilla custard. A crunchy, caramelized topping made from almonds, butter, sugar and honey adds the crunch. This bee sting cake with pudding filling and sourdough is the perfect cake for a cozy coffee date on Mother's Day.
Ingredients
dough
- 400 g cake flour or type 405
- 40 g sourdough starter
- 60 g butter soft, or a vegan alternative
- 60 g sugar
- 240 g milk or a vegan alternative
- 1 pinch salt
Toppings
- 100 g chopped almonds
- 100 g sliced almonds
- 50 g butter or a vegan alternative
- 40 g sugar
- 3 tbsp. whipped cream or milk or a vegan alternative
- 2 tbsp. honey or sirup
Custard cream
- 400 ml milk or a vegan alternative
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla custard mix
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 250 ml whipped cream or a vegan alternative
- 1 tablespoon cream stiffener
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Day 1
- For the dough, mix the flour, sourdough starter, milk, butter, sugar and salt. Cover the dough and leave to proof at room temperature for six to eight hours. Stretch and fold after 30 minutes.
- In winter, leave the dough to rest overnight at room temperature. In summer, leave the dough to proof for four to five hours at room temperature and then place in the fridge overnight.
Day 2
- Pour the dough into a greased cake tin* and press onto the base of the tin. Cover the tin and leave to rest for one to two hours until the dough has significantly increased in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees using a steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven dish* and lava stones*.
- For the almond topping, heat the butter, sugar, cream and honey in a pan. When all the ingredients have melted, add the almonds and bring everything to the boil. Leave the mixture to cool and spread onto the cake layer. Leave a one centimeter gap to the edge.
- Bake the bee sting cake for 10 minutes with steam and 20 minutes without steam. Remove the cake from the tin* and allow to cool completely.
- For the custard, prepare the vanilla custard according to the instructions on the packet, but only use 400 ml milk and sweeten with three tablespoons of sugar. Allow the pudding to cool completely. Strain the cooled pudding through a sieve.
- Whip the cream with the cream stiffener and vanilla extract. Fold the cream into the cooled custard and refrigerate the mixture.
- Cut the cake in half with a sharp knife*. Cut the top half of the cake into eight or twelve slices.
- Spread the custard cream on the bottom layer of the cake. Carefully place the pieces from the top layer of the cake on the cream. Keep the bee sting cake in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
Tip: If the dough is too soft and difficult to shape, you can put it in the fridge for one to two hours. This makes the butter in the dough firm and the dough easier to work with.