🍰 Bienenstich (bee sting cake)
Bienenstich is a German sheet cake of soft, slightly sweet yeast dough baked under a crunchy caramelised topping of honey, butter and flaked almonds. Once cool, the cake is split horizontally and filled with a thick layer of vanilla custard cream. Each slice combines crackly almond toffee, tender bread-like sponge and cool, creamy filling, and it is a favourite at afternoon coffee.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- Dough: 300 g plain flour, 7 g dried yeast, 40 g sugar, a pinch of salt
- 125 ml warm milk
- 50 g soft butter and 1 egg for the dough
- Topping: 75 g butter, 75 g sugar, 2 tbsp honey
- 150 g flaked almonds
- Filling: 500 ml milk
- 40 g cornflour, 60 g sugar, 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the warm milk, butter and egg and knead into a smooth dough. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Press the dough into a lined 24 × 30 cm tin.
- Melt the butter, sugar and honey for the topping, simmer for 2 minutes, stir in the almonds and let cool slightly. Spread over the dough and leave for 15 minutes.
- Bake at 180 °C for 20–25 minutes until golden, then let cool completely.
- For the filling, whisk the cornflour, sugar, egg yolks and some of the milk. Bring the rest of the milk to the boil, whisk in the mixture and cook until thick. Add the vanilla, cover and cool.
- Cut the cake into squares, split each horizontally, spread with the cooled custard and replace the almond tops.
How to make it lighter
- Cut small squares — a 60 g piece instead of a 120 g slice halves the calories.
- Make the custard filling thinner and the almond topping lighter; the butter-honey layer is the most calorie-dense part.
- Share a slice and enjoy it with black coffee or tea rather than a milky, sweetened drink.
History
The name means "bee sting". The story most often told is that a baker was stung by a bee drawn to the honey topping, though there are other legends and none can be confirmed. Today Bienenstich is a standard in German bakeries and cafés.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →