Amazing Almond Topped Diplomat Cream Filled Bee Sting Cake Recipe

Bee sting or ‘Bienenstich’ is a German cake made with sweet dough topped with caramelized almonds and filled with diplomat cream. It’s an amazing treat and it goes down so easily. You should share it with someone because it is way too easy to eat way too much of this delicious treat.

This is not the first bee sting on the channel. I made one a couple years ago back when I used to make my brioche dough with a mixer. It was time to refresh the recipe by turning it into a no-knead brioche and while I was at it, I thought I’d change the shape too.

The recipe makes quite a large batch in a large tray measuring 38cm x 25cm (15in x 10in). If you want to make it in a smaller tray, then simply divide all the ingredients.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

500g (1.1lb) white bread flour

250g (8.8oz) egg

12g (0.42oz) salt

9g (0.32oz) instant dry yeast or 11g (0.38oz) active dry yeast or 27g (0.95oz) fresh yeast

60g (2.1oz) sugar

200g (7oz) softened butter

For the pastry cream –

400g (14.1oz) milk

100g (3.5oz) sugar

50g (1.75oz) butter

2 eggs (100g; 2.5oz)

1 orange worth of zest

40g (1.4oz) corn starch

For the diplomat cream –

120g (4.25oz) double (heavy) cream

7g (0.25oz) gelatine

21g (0.75oz) warm water

For the almond topping –

200g (7oz) butter

200g (7oz) sugar

40g (1.4oz) honey

40g (1.4oz) milk

200g (7oz) sliced almonds

To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you will need to let it sit in the egg for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

If you are curious about why the dough contains butter, egg, and sugar, click the links to learn more about the effects those ingredients have on bread dough.

Method

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl combine the eggs, yeast, salt, and sugar. Whisk to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add 8 tablespoons (200g; 7oz) flour and whisk. Add the softened butter and whisk until smooth.
2. Add the remaining flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature around 25C (77F). If your dough is at this temperature or higher, then refrigerate it after the first fold. If it’s cooler like the dough in the video, then chill it after the second fold.
3. Cover and ferment for 30 minutes.
4. Fold #1.
5. Ferment for 30 minutes.
6. Fold #2.
7. Ferment for 30 minutes.
8. Fold #3.
9. Cold ferment for 18 – 24 hours. After cold bulk fermentation you can use this dough for any project you like.
10. Make the pastry cream. Combine the milk, sugar, butter, eggs, orange zest, and corn starch in a pan. Place on medium-high heat and cook whist whisking continuously for around 5 minutes or until the cream has thickened.
11. Pour into a bowl, cover with clingfilm so that it is touching the surface, and refrigerate until needed.
12. Make the almond topping. Combine the butter, sugar, honey, and milk in a pan and set it on high heat. Bring up to a boil and cook until the mix reaches 110C (230F). Take it off the heat and mix in the almonds. Cover and leave to cool down at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.
13. Roll out the dough to fit your baking tray. Place it in a tray lined with paper. If the tray is shallow, make sure the paper is high enough to stop the caramel from overflowing when baking.
14. Poke the dough with a fork to prevent large bubbles from forming. Cover and proof for 3 hours.
15. Top the dough with the almond topping. If it has set, you can microwave it for a few seconds to make it more spreadable.
16. Cover and proof for 1 more hour.
17. Bake at 170C (340F) fan on for 30 minutes or until the top has browned nicely all over. Leave to cool down.
18. Once cool, slice the dough in half horizontally. Cut the top into individual portions and leave on the side.
19. Make the diplomat cream. Whisk the double cream until thick and then mix it with the custard.
20. Melt the gelatine in the water over a double boiler. Add the gelatine to the custard and whisk until smooth.
21. Spread the cream onto the bottom part of the dough and top with the portioned pieces. Place in the fridge to set.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.