Bienenstich
Ingredients
- Dough: 350 g flour, 7 g yeast, 200 ml warm milk, 50 g sugar, 1 egg, 60 g soft butter, pinch of salt
- Topping: 80 g butter, 80 g sugar, 40 g honey, 40 ml cream, 150 g sliced almonds
- Filling: milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, whipped cream or butter
Bienenstich pairs a soft, slightly sweet yeasted cake base with a topping of butter, sugar and honey cooked with sliced almonds until caramelized, baked right on top so it sets into a crackly, nutty crust. Once cooled, the cake is split horizontally and filled with a rich vanilla cream (or a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream) before the top is set back in place.
Method
Make the yeast dough by combining flour, yeast, warm milk, sugar, egg, butter and salt; knead until smooth and elastic, then proof until doubled.
Press the dough into a round or rectangular baking pan and let it proof again briefly.
Make the topping by melting butter with sugar, honey and cream, bringing to a boil, and simmering about 5 minutes; stir in the sliced almonds.
Spread the warm almond topping evenly over the proofed dough.
Bake at around 180°C (350°F) for 25-30 minutes, until the top is deep golden and caramelized and the cake is cooked through.
Cool completely, then slice the cake in half horizontally using a long serrated knife.
Make a vanilla pastry cream, cool it, and fold in whipped cream (or simply beat with softened butter) to make the filling.
Spread the filling over the bottom layer, then replace the almond-topped layer on top and chill briefly before slicing.
