Oh Honey

Everything you ever wanted to know about keeping bees is detailed in Doug Purdie’s new book, Backyard Bees. He shares some delicious honey recipes with ele.

Bee Sting Cake

Ingredients (Serves 12)

300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) plain flour 55 g (2 oz/¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar 2 teaspoons dried yeast 185 ml (6 fl oz/¾ cup) milk, at room temperature 2 eggs, at room temperature 60 g (2¼ oz/¼ cup) softened butter, chopped ½ teaspoon salt

Honey almond topping

90 g (3¼ oz/⅓ cup) butter, diced 50 g (1¾ oz) honey

75 g (⅓ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

40 ml (1¼ fl oz) thick (double) cream 150 g (5½ oz) flaked almonds

Filling

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) cream cheese, softened 250 g (9 oz) ricotta cheese finely grated zest of 2 lemons 2 tablespoons lemon juice 125 g (4½ oz/1 cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted

Method Preheat the oven to 170 C (325 F/Gas 3). Grease and line the base and side of a 23 cm (9 inch) spring-form cake tin.

For the filling, put the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until just combined. Refrigerate until needed.

For the cake, put the flour, sugar, yeast, milk, eggs, butter and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the cake tin and spread out evenly with a spoon or offset spatula. Place the tin in a clean plastic bag and tie to enclose. Leave in a warm, draught-free place and allow to rise for 1–1½ hours.

Meanwhile, make the topping. Put butter, honey, sugar and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5–6 minutes until the mixture turns a slightly darker shade of yellow. Add almonds and stir through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until the cake dough has finished rising.

Starting at the edges, spoon the topping evenly over the cake dough and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes on a wire rack set over a baking tray to catch any caramel drips. Release the side of the cake tin and remove the baking paper from the side. Leave until completely cool before slicing.

Use a long serrated knife to halve the cake horizontally. Place the top half on a flat plate.

Spread the filling evenly over bottom half of the cake using a palette knife or spatula and cover with the top layer of the cake.

Bee sting cakes are best eaten on the day they are baked, though they can be partly prepared the day before: keep the risen dough in an airtight container at room temperature, then bake and fill the following day.

Note: You can also use a non-spring-form tin; just let the cake cool for 20 minutes before turning it out. Be very careful as the caramel will still be warm.

Chamomile Honey Ice cream

Ingredients (makes 1 litre)

560 ml (19¼ fl oz/2¼ cups) milk 400 ml (14 fl oz) thin (pouring) cream (35% milk fat) 1 tablespoon chamomile tea leaves 200 g (7 oz) honey 8 egg yolks 2 cups ice, for cooling custard Waffle cones, to serve

Method Place milk, cream and chamomile tea leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Cover and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a large jug and discard chamomile leaves.

Heat honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to boil for 5 minutes until it begins to caramelise - do not allow it to burn. Slowly pour in milk mixture, whisking constantly until honey has dissolved.

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl and slowly pour in hot milk - honey mixture while whisking.

Prepare a large metal bowl set over a bowl of ice - you will use this to cool the milk and yolk mixture.

Pour the milk and yolk mixture into a clean saucepan and stir over low heat until it reaches 82 C (180 F) or begins to thicken - do not allow it to boil. Pour through a fine sieve into the large metal bowl set over ice and allow to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

Churn using an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Note: Churning the mixture before it’s cold may mean your ice cream doesn’t set, so don’t rush it. You can place the custard in the freezer for 30 minutes or so to speed up the cooling process.

About Backyard Bees

In Backyard Bees, Doug Purdie offers friendly, expert advice on keeping happy, healthy bees and harvesting the liquid gold, including tips on choosing a hive and equipment, and an all-new chapter on the Flow hive, the innovative beehive design that has taken beekeeping by storm. This book also includes case studies and anecdotes from beekeepers from all walks of life and 20 delicious recipes that hero honey. @dougpurdie

Images and text from Backyard Bees by Doug Purdie, photography by Cath Muscat. Murdoch Books RRP $36.99

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