27*52 Bienenstich (Bee's Sting)

Bee's Sting.

Doesn't sound like something you would want in your mouth?

In general, I would agree. But not when it comes to this traditional German cake.

It is my mom's birthday tomorrow and - surprisingly - she has been telling me that she would like this cake for a while now. Surprisingly so because she does neither like whipped cream nor (vanilla) pudding but both are in the filling.

Oh well - it's her birthday so her wish is my command :)

Bienenstich (Bee's Sting)

Adapted from Chefkoch.de  

Dough:

500 g flour

100 g sugar

1 cube (42 g) fresh yeast

250 ml milk, warm

1 egg

50 g butter, soft

pintch of salt

Filling:

2 sachets powder for vanilla pudding

750 ml milk

100 g sugar

1 egg yolk

200 g heavy cream

Topping:

100 g heavy cream

50 g butter

2 tablespoons honey

100 g sugar

200 g almonds, sliced

• Crumble yeast into flour, add 1 teaspoon sugar and a bit of milk and stir. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 5 minutes until bubbles appear.
• Cook pudding with milk and sugar according to the directions on the package. Let cool a bit, stir in egg yolk. Let cool completely, stir occassionally.
• Knead yeast-flour-mix with the remaining sugar and milk, egg, butter, and salt. Let rise for 30 minutes.
• For the topping, bring cream, butter, honey, and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, let cool a bit and stir in almonds.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). For a lower cake, roll out dough onto a baking sheet. For a higher and round cake, put dough into a springform pan. Spread almond mix onto it, let rise for another 10 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes (or up to 30 minutes if you bake it in a springform pan). Let cool completely.
• Cut cake into half lenghtwise, take off the top part and set aside. Whip cream and add to the pudding. Spread cream onto the bottom cake. Cut the top into desired amount of slices before putting them back onto the cream filling to make cutting easier.

My modifications:

None. I baked it in a springform pan and got a very, very high cake. I cut out a bit in the middle to make it more manageable for eating.

The taste:

I'm not the biggest fan (never was) but it was good. The topping is the best part, if you ask me. The filling was yummy but started to liquify pretty quickly after taking it out of the fridge (as you can see below).

Maybe next time I would make a sheet of this cake with lots of the topping and no filling. Could be pretty good and more practical for summer.

What have you baked for somebody's birthday because they wished for it?

12/52 Heidelbeer-Streuselkuchen

Or: Blueberry Crumble Cake. For my cousin Stephanie. I'll explain why later.

Streuselkuchen is a very typical and traditional German cake.
It is originally made of a yeast dough base with crumbles (= Streusel) on top. In between, as a filling, there can be a kind of vanilla cream/pudding, all sorts of fruit, or poppy seeds.

I always liked the fruit Streuselkuchen best.
In late summer, plums are the most common filling (and one of the best, in my opinion). Cherries are very good as well. Or raspberries. Rhubarb. You pretty much name it. The plain Streuselkuchen with no filling at all, just base and crumbles, has always been a bit too boring for me.
But I will eat it if it's the only kind of Streuselkuchen around...

So back to my cousin Stephanie. She asked me last week if I ever make Zwetschgenstreuselkuchen (the aforementioned plum version). Apparently it reminds her of our Grandmother who was one of the best bakers I know. I guess it might also symbolize Germany for Stephanie, since she grew up in Canada. Yes, this is the short short version but I thought it made sense mentioning.

(Stephanie - if there is anything you would like to add or adjust - please let me know!)

Anyway, since plums aren't in season, I decided to try blueberries for the first time in a Streuselkuchen.
(Yes, I know, blueberries aren't really in season here either, but at least you can buy them...)

I also wanted to make the quicker version with a sponge cake base instead of the yeast one.

So here it is - for Stephanie.

Heidelbeer-Streuselkuchen

Adapted from Heidelbeerhof Foelster (a blueberry farm in nothern Germany)

500 g (3 2/3 cups) blueberries

125 g (1.1 stick) butter, softened

125 g (10 tablespoons) sugar

1 sachet (2 teaspoons) vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

pinch of salt

2 eggs

250 g (2 cups) flour

1 sachet (1 1/2 tablespoons) baking powder

Streusel:

125 g (1.1 stick) butter, cold

125 g (10 tablespoons) sugar

125 g (1 cup) flour

• Preheat oven to 175°C (347°F).
• Beat together sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla sugar, until light and fluffy.
• Add butter and mix well.
• Fold in sifted flour and baking powder.
• Spread batter evenly into a prepared pan (about 24 cm/9.5 in in diameter).
• Arrange blueberries on batter.
• Using your hands, quickly mix cold butter, sugar, and flour to crumbs. Crumble them over the blueberries.
• Bake on second lowest oven rack for 50-60 minutes.

My modification:

I only had 375 g (2 1/2 cups) of blueberries and that was enough to cover the base.

I used raw cane sugar because I was out of "regular" sugar.

My cake was done in 45 minutes. Just keep an eye on the Streusel, they are supposed to be golden but not brown. 

Please note: if you ever plan on making the plum Streuselkuchen, please do make a yeast dough base. It just suits the plums so much better. For every other fruit, feel free to make the quicker version like above.

The taste:

Cake base & blueberries & crumbles - I don't think there is anybody who wouldn't think this is a great combination.
If you like it a bit crunchy (expecially for the crumbles), eat the cake on the same day as you baked it. If you like it a bit soft and soggy, wrap your cake in aluminum foil and eat it one, two or even three days after you baked it.

I still have to admit that nothing beats the yeast base/plum Streuselkuchen, so come around plum season!

Which cake do you associate with your childhood, or a specific member of your family?