Bee Hive Cake
Banana Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups banana puree (about 4 bananas)
½ cup buttermilk
Honey Walnut Buttercream:
1 cup egg whites
2 cups sugar
1 ½ pounds (6 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cups walnut pieces, lightly toasted and cooled
yellow Food Coloring
Marzipan Bees:
¼ cup marzipan
¼ cup sliced almond
black Food Coloring
To bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan and an 8-inch metal mixing bowl. Line the cake pan with a parchment paper round. Set aside.
In a small saucepan cook the butter over low heat.
until the butter is caramel colored and smells toasty.
Strain the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla until it is cooled off slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the banana puree and mix until incorporated.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
Divide the batter between the cake pan and the prepared bowl.
Bake the cakes for about 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. The cake in the bowl may take a few more minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.
Make the buttercream: Click here for detailed directions. Add the honey, salt, and vanilla.
Divide the buttercream in half and add the walnuts to one batch and the yellow food coloring to the other.
Cut and fill the cakes: Slice each of the layer in half, then fill the layers with the walnut buttercream. Click here for a video on cutting and filling a cake.
Using a small amount of the yellow buttercream create a crumb coat to lock in the crumbs and smooth the surface of the cake. Click here for video on creating a crumb coat.
Put a nice thick layer of buttercream over the chilled crumb coat. Starting at the top of the cake, use a Spatula and create a spiral by slowly spinning the Cake Decorating Stand and moving the spatula downward.
To create the marzipan bees: Take a small piece of the marzipan and roll it between the palms of your hands until it is lozenge shaped. You can taper one end slightly to be the back of the bee. Paint the stripes on the marzipan with a clean paintbrush or toothpick and black food coloring. Allow it to dry until it is no longer tacky.
Once the stripes are dry, press the sliced almonds into the sides to create the bees wings.
