The Bee cake is a recipe from the group of classic honey cakes. That's why it's hard to find anyone who won't fall in love with this cake. Honey cakes are incredibly delicious, and for many, the "Pchelka" cake is synonymous with homemade baked goods. And although the "Pchelka" cake is very popular and is sold in all stores, and its photo is featured on all bakery websites, the most delicious and healthy cake will always be the one you make at home.

The "Bee" cake differs from the classic honey cake precisely in its decoration. This cake is essentially a festive honey cake. The cake is decorated with a honeycomb pattern along the surface and sides, and decorative bees are placed on top. There are many creative photos of such decorations online. In our article, you'll find not only the recipe but also easy ways to make these decorations.

Classic Bee Recipe

Bee Cake 2

Ingredients for making the dough:

  • Eggs – 3
  • Flour - 3 cups
  • Butter – 100 g
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Salt – 0.5 tsp.
  • Honey – 2 tbsp.
  • Cognac (vodka) – 2 tbsp.

How to cook?

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, honey, and sugar over low heat, stirring constantly. This base will give the cake its incomparable honey flavor.
  2. Beat the eggs with salt. Now comes one of the most crucial steps in the entire recipe: pour the mixture in a thin stream directly into the pan over high heat. The stream must be thin and stirring constantly, otherwise the egg whites will simply cook into the mixture, and the cake recipe will disappoint you with streaks of protein in the batter. Add cognac or vodka and baking soda to the mixture.
  3. Stir the mixture for another couple of minutes; during this time, a thick foam will form (don't worry about this) and the mixture will double in volume. Now you can add the flour, stirring thoroughly, and turn off the heat. Cover the saucepan and let it sit on the stove for another 5 minutes (with the burner off).
  4. The dough is ready; as you can see, the recipe turned out to be quite simple. To check if your dough is right, scoop out some of it with a spoon: it shouldn't be a lump, but rather separate into elastic strips. If the dough is lumpy, it will have a honey-like flavor, but the consistency won't be as thick as the recipe calls for.
  5. What makes a cake a cake is its layers. Therefore, we need to make several layers of dough. Since our recipe is honey-based, this dough needs to be rolled out especially carefully, as it tends to stick. Therefore, generously dust the rolling surface with flour. Transfer the dough with a large spoon onto the surface and begin kneading it, dusting the top with flour. Next, divide the large lump into 12-15 balls. If you look at the cross-section photo of the cake, you'll see that this is exactly how many layers it uses. Roll the dough out thinly, as if you were making lavash. Roll out all the layers at once and place them on top of each other to prevent them from sticking, dusting each layer with flour.
  6. Let's start baking the cake. Place the first layer on a baking sheet for 2-3 minutes at 180°C. The recipe also has some secrets here: to prevent the dough from tearing while you're carrying it, roll it around a rolling pin dusted with flour. Once placed on the baking sheet, prick the dough with a knife every 3-5 cm across the entire surface (as honey cake dough tends to bubble).
  7. We'll trim the edges of the finished cake layers. You can use a saucepan or frying pan lid for this. Don't throw away the trimmings: you can use them to decorate the cake.

Ingredients for making the cream:

  • Sour cream – 1 l
  • Sugar – 2 cups
  • Vanilla - on the tip of a knife

Beat all ingredients with a mixer at low speed. Keep in mind that the cream should be thick. Therefore, use full-fat sour cream or add a thickener to the cream (follow the instructions on the thickener package). Spread the cream on the top and sides of the cake, then spread it on all the layers. The cake is now ready, but you can serve it after 5 hours.

Decorations for the Bee

Bee Cake 3

The Bee is a festive cake with distinctive decorations. First and foremost, it's the honeycomb. It's easy to make, and you don't need a special recipe. The key is to have a handy tool at hand—namely, bubble wrap. You don't even need to look at the photo to figure out what to do: after the Bee has been in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, take it out and apply the wrap to the surface. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then peel it off. It will leave a distinctive honeycomb imprint. Another way to achieve a similar effect is to use a dumpling maker. This will create larger honeycombs.

Previously, decorations were limited to honeycombs and sprinkles of crushed cake layers. But you can go further and make your own bee figurines. The recipe is simple: melt dark chocolate and, using a pastry bag or even a regular file, pipe thin stripes onto foil (like the bee's body). After the pieces have frozen for half an hour, finish drawing stripes on the body with white chocolate. The wings for the bees are made from almond flakes (pre-made) or almond slices.

In principle, the decoration recipe can be anything you like—look at photos of finished products online and let your imagination run wild! Don't forget to take a photo of your beautiful, and most importantly, delicious, Bee as a keepsake!

Video recipe for making the "Bee" cake