Sting like a bee A

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The Colne Valley is completely covered in snow, and there’s a magical quiet to the air.

No work-day traffic helps, as does the deadening effect of the snow, and all that remains is the sound of the local birds (Phil, our resident pheasant, is on fine form, prowling his territory with occasional theatrical squawks) and the occasional moo emanating from the barn next door.

This winter is taking its sweet time in departing, and it’s as if the garden is almost bursting with latent energy, everything coiled like tensed springs, ready for the signal to burst into life.

I even saw my first bumble bee the other day, and looking out at the blizzard, I do wonder if brer bumble is OK.

I’d love to think he’s hunkered down in a little hole somewhere, riding out the storm.

And talking of bees, we arrive at this week’s recipe, a German cake I’ve never made before, called Bienenstich. Translated as ‘bee sting,’ it’s thought the name comes from the large amount of honey therein, and that the original baker was stung as he tried to rescue his cake from a marauding swarm.

I can see the bees’ eagerness, for this is an amazing-smelling cake; rich and yeasty, with the combined sweetness of honey and toasted nuts, alongside a rich vanilla cream within.

Essentially it’s a yeasted teabread, baked with a sweet honey glaze crammed with toasted almonds, sandwiched around a rich vanilla cream. It can be made in many different ways – it’s often served is squares as a traybake, but I thought I’d go for the more traditional round cake.

The filling can also take many forms, from simple Chantilly to whipped buttercream, but I wanted something a little firmer, so went for the crème patissière option, a thick vanilla custard that successfully holds the two cakes together and provides a silky texture and rich vanilla flavour.

I also added a essence, to join the dots flavourwise.

The Bienenstich is a yeasted cake, so there’s not so much fretting and pacing up and down by the oven, hoping for results.

It’s a very easy dough to make up, and after the obligatory wait for the rise, it bakes with little fuss, making it a good cake to make with the kids, or enthusiastic amateur.

You may wish to make the crème pat up a day or two before, as it needs to be cold for the piping process. And, in true German tradition, it really ought to be served mid-morning, with a big pot of coffee and good conversation.

The German convention of ‘Kaffee und Klatsch’ (coffee and chat) is an admirable one, and this wonderfully rich and indulgent cake is the perfect way to sustain a few hours’ convivial gossip.