Bee sting cake with vanilla cream: honey almonds crunch like Florentine cookies

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1. Make the dough

   1 hr

   Mix the flour with the active dry yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the lukewarm milk, lukewarm melted butter, and egg, and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and supple. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until doubled in size.

2. Cook the pudding

   10 min

   While the dough rises, cook a thick pudding using the pudding mix, sugar, and 400 ml milk, following the package directions. Use 100 ml less milk than the package calls for so the filling holds its shape. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool completely.

3. Prepare the almond topping

   10 min

   In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar, honey, and cream. Simmer, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly. Stir in the sliced almonds and let cool until lukewarm.

4. Place the dough in the pan

   20 min

   Line the bottom of a 26 cm springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Roll out the risen dough to fit the pan or press it into the pan with your hands, then prick it several times with a fork. Spread the almond mixture over the dough and let rise for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

5. Bake

   1 hr 30 min

   Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for 25–30 minutes, until the almonds are golden brown. If they brown too quickly, cover with parchment paper. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour.

6. Whip the cream filling

   10 min

   Beat the cooled pudding until smooth. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then fold it into the pudding in batches using a wooden spoon.

7. Fill and chill

   2 hr 15 min

   Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally with a long knife. Use a sharp knife to cut the almond-topped half into 12 slices; otherwise, the cream would squeeze out when slicing. Place the springform ring around the bottom layer, spread the cream filling over it, and arrange the slices of the top layer on the filling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Tip: Cut the almond topping into slices before filling the cake so the cream won't squeeze out when you slice it. Keep the cake refrigerated and eat within 2 days.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Včelie bodnutie s vanilkovým krémom: medové mandle navrchu chrumkajú ako florentínky