Bee Sting Bienenstich Bars Recipes

BEE STING CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:Combine milk, honey, and yeast in a liquid measuring cup, and let stand in a warm place until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine milk mixture with flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix together on high speed until mixture begins to form a ball and is smooth, about 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball using your hands. Place in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Punch down dough (but make and cool glaze first).
• Glaze:After dough has risen 30 minutes, melt butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth. Stir in almonds until well coated. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Butter parchment. Roll out dough into a 7-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to pan, and press evenly into bottom of pan. Spread glaze over dough (if it has congealed, reheat slightly, but make sure it's not hot). Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until dough is almost doubled and does not spring back when pressed, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating once. Let cool in pan 20 minutes on a wire rack. Lift out of pan using parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
• Pastry cream:While cake is cooling, mix together granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl, then whisk sugar mixture into egg yolks until smooth. Meanwhile, bring milk and 3 tablespoons honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Pour a small amount into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk remaining milk mixture into egg mixture; when thoroughly combined, pour back into pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to boil; continue to cook and whisk until mixture is very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl, and cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until completely cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Whisk pastry cream in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk heavy cream with remaining 2 tablespoons honey in a separate bowl until medium peaks form. Fold a third of pastry cream into whipped-cream mixture with a rubber spatula. Fold whipped cream mixture into remaining pastry cream in 2 additions.
• Cut cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Spread pastry-cream mixture on bottom layer, leaving a 1-inch border. Place remaining cake half, almond side up, on top, and press gently to push cream out to the edges. Refrigerate until chilled through, at least 45 minutes and up to 3 hours. Slice with a serrated knife, and serve.

BEE STING CAKE (BIENENSTICH) I

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, and the warm water; set aside to proof for 5 minutes.
• Cream 3/4 cup butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla, milk, sour cream, and yeast. Beat until smooth. Add the flour a little at a time to form a soft dough. Add all of the flour, and continue to beat until elastic, about 8 minutes. Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 50 minutes. Can be placed in the refrigerator overnight instead.
• Beat down the dough, and divide into two pieces. Place each in a buttered 9 inch square pan. Brush the top of each with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Cover and let rise until doubled.
• For the glaze, place the brown sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, cream, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and almonds. Let cool slightly. Drizzle the warm glaze, not hot, over each of the cakes.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until the nuts are golden. Cool on a rack.
• Split the cakes lengthwise using a serrated knife, and fill with the pastry cream. Sandwich cakes back together and serve.

BEE STING CAKE

Steps:

• For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Immediately transfer to a clean bowl; stir in vanilla. Cool 30 minutes. Press plastic wrap onto surface of filling; refrigerate until cold., Whisk custard gently. Fold in half the whipped cream. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate., While custard is chilling, make dough. In a large bowl, mix sugar, yeast, salt and 1 cup flour. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat on medium speed 1 minute. Add eggs; beat on high 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a well floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , While dough is rising, make almond topping. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, honey and sugar. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in almonds. Cool slightly and set aside. , Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 9-in. circle. Transfer to greased 9-in. springform baking pan, pressing to evenly fill pan with dough. Spoon almond mixture over dough and gently spread to cover entire surface. Cover pan with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 25-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake until topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife. Cool 1 hour longer. , Remove cake from base of springform pan. Using a long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally in half; spread filling over cake. Replace top of cake. Serve immediately. Chill leftovers.

BEE STING CAKE (BIENENSTICH) II

Steps:

• Combine flour, yeast, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, 3/4 cup milk, and 3 tablespoons butter or margarine. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 15 to 20 minutes. Place in a well greased bowl, and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled.
• Punch down the dough. Roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine and confectioner's sugar in a saucepan. Add almonds and 1 tablespoon milk. Remove from heat, and stir in honey. Spread evenly and carefully onto the dough. Allow dough to continue to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Dissolve cornstarch in a little milk. Combine 1 1/2 cups milk, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon sugar inn the top of a double boiler. Heat while stirring until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in beaten egg, and keep stirring for about 2 more minutes, or until thick. Remove from heat, and stir in extract. Chill, covered, in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Beat the whipping cream with the cream of tartar until stiff. Fold into the chilled pudding.
• Cut the cooled almond crust bread into 1 1/4 x 2 inch rectangles. Slice each horizontally into halves. Fill with pudding mixture. Chill, and serve cold.

BEE STING (BIENENSTICH) BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• ALMOND SYRUP: In a small pan, combine all ingredients over medium-high heat. Stir until mixture reaches a rolling boil. Remove pan from heat.
• DOUGH: In a mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour,sugar, baking powder, and salt).
• Cut butter into pieces and, with a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut into flour mixture until mixture is very crumbly and no large particles remain. Add egg and mix with a fork until dough holds together.
• Press dough evenly over bottom of an ungreased 10x15-inch rimmed baking pan. Pour almond syrup over dough, spreading evenly.
• Bake in a 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is deep golden. Let cool in pan on a rack.
• Cut into 2-inch squares; for smaller cookies, cut each square diagonally into 2 triangles. (Note: yield is based on number of cookies, not triangles.) Store airtight.