Bee Sting Pastry (Bienenstich)

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Out of all of the dishes I have baked for Project Pastry Love this one has to be my favorite with Strawberry Rhubarb Lattice Crumble Pie coming in a close second.  This pastry has a delicious, slight lemony, sweet base, a buttery honey topping, and a sweet vanilla cream filling.  To make it requires two days of patience. Most of your time will be spent waiting. The dough has to rise, the pastry needs time to cool, and the pastry cream needs to chill in the fridge before all of the components can come together.  Once you serve Bee Sting Pastry, however, you’ll find it takes no time to finish at all. 

I got the sweet yeast dough recipe from The Bread Bible, and the almond topping, and pastry cream recipe from How To Bake. There are a few things I learned when making this recipe:

  1. Having a thermometer on hand is extremely valuable. With it, I was able to make my pastry cream just right (not too runny, and not over set), and I knew exactly when my sweet yeast dough had baked completely through (pastry cream is ready at 200 degrees F., and enriched bread is fully baked also at 200 degrees F.).
  2. Adding a splash of kirsch to vanilla pastry cream takes it to a whole new level.
  3. I found with this recipe that the bread sinks in the middle after it has baked. I think this is because of its richness. It contains butter and eggs, which can really weigh the dough down.  I baked it in a cake pan… I wonder if a tube pan would have provided better structure.

The sweet yeast dough recipe begins with a sponge (a little flour, water, and yeast are mixed together and set aside for about 30 minutes to rise before adding the bulk of the ingredients). This helps to enhance the overall flavor and texture of the bread. Once everything is mixed together you are left with a sticky, yet smooth dough.

The honey, butter, almond mixture is poured on top of the dough

A vanilla pastry cream is made, and chilled before becoming the filling to this most delicious dessert.

Voila!

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Bienenstich
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For the pastry cream
  1. 1 cup Whole Milk, at room temperature and divided
  2. ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar
  3. 2 TBS Cornstarch
  4. 4 Large Egg Yolks, at room temperature
  5. 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  6. 1 TBS Kirsch (optional but highly recommended)
  7. 8 TBS (1 stick or 113 g) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature and cut into 8 pieces
For the sweet yeast dough
  1. Sponge
  2. 1 ½ TBS Active Dry Yeast
  3. 1 TBS Sugar
  4. 2 cups (250 g) All Purpose Flour
  5. ¼ cup Warm Water (105 degree F. 115 degrees F.)
  6. 1 and ¼ cup Warm Whole Milk (105 degrees F. 115 degrees F.)
  7. Dough
  8. Zest from 1 Lemon
  9. 2 tsp. Salt
  10. 1/3 cup (67 g) Sugar
  11. 3 cups (375 g) All Purpose Flour, divided
  12. 2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
  13. 1 and ½ sticks (170 g) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
For the almond brittle topping
  1. 6 TBS (85 g) Unsalted Butter
  2. ¼ cup Honey
  3. ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar
  4. 1 cup (113 g) sliced Blanched Almonds
To make the pastry cream
  1. In a saucepan over low heat, whisk ¾ cup of the milk, and the sugar until combined.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the remaining milk and the cornstarch. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined.
  3. Once the milk/sugar mixture comes to a boil slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture. Be sure to whisk the egg yolk mixture while the hot sugar/milk is being poured in. Once incorporated, add the entire mixture back into the saucepan over low heat. While constantly whisking monitor the temperature. Once the mixture reaches 200 degrees F. remove it from the heat, and strain it into a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract, and kirsch (if using). Finally, stir in the butter, once piece at a time until fully incorporated. Once the mixture is smooth cover with plastic wrap. Be sure the plastic touches the top of the pastry cream, so as to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or as long as 3 days.
To make the sponge
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar, and flour until combined. Pour in the warmed water, and milk. Using a wooden spoon, and your arm muscle, stir the sponge until smooth (about 1 minute). Cover the sponge with plastic wrap and set it aside until bubbles form on top (about 30 minutes).
To make the dough
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, salt, sugar, and 1 cup of the flour until combined. Pour this dry mixture into the sponge. Stir to combined, then stir in the eggs. Once each egg is incorporated beat the mixture until smooth. Add the butter, just a few pieces at a time. Using your arm strength again, mix in the butter until fully incorporated. Finally, add the remaining flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is smooth, but still soft.
  2. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes, or until it passes the “window pane test” (pull a small piece of the dough apart, and if it can get very thin and nearly transparent, but not break it is ready).
  3. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside to rise until doubled is size (about 1 and ½ to 2 hours).
  4. Once risen, punch the dough to deflate. Place back in the greased bowl, and recover with the damp cloth. Refrigerate the dough for 12 to 24 hours.
  5. Deflate the chilled dough, and then dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and then form each piece into a circle. Place a damp cloth over both pieces, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Grease, and line with parchment two 9-inch cake pans. Press each dough evenly into each cake pan. Prick the surface all around with a fork in 1-inch intervals. Cover the pans with damp cloths, and set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Remove the cloth, and refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the almond brittle
  1. Grease a small heat-proof bowl. Set aside. Stir the butter, honey, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat, and stir in the almonds. Pour the mixture into your prepared bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Bake the dough
  1. Spread the almond brittle topping on the tops of both doughs then bake for 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the dough reaches 200 degrees F.
  2. Cool in their pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, and then carefully unmold them to cool completely. Wrap up one of the sweet breads in plastic, and foil, and freeze for another time.
To assemble
  1. You’re almost there! Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator, and briefly whisk it until smooth. Cut your sweet dough in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on your platter. Evenly spread the pastry cream over top. Gently place the top half over the pastry cream. Slice in to wedges, and serve with coffee. Enjoy!
Special equipment needed
  1. Saucepan
  2. Whisk
  3. Candy thermometer
  4. Two 9-inch round cake pans
  5. Large bowl
  6. Dough scraper
  7. Serrated knife
Adapted from The Bread Bible/ How To Bake
Adapted from The Bread Bible/ How To Bake
Project Pastry Love https://www.projectpastrylove.com/
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