Did you notice our adorable new logo?! It was released this summer on a limited-edition t-shirt! Design by Nina Chantanapumma
Did you know that queen bumblebees can go into hibernation for up to 9 months at a time? They go into hibernation to save themselves from the rigors of life, protecting their energy from predation. How fitting, it seems, that here we are, just a trio of Queens coming out of the earth approximately six-ish months later to bring you a blog post about a sweet, honey laden dessert known as the Bee Sting Cake.
Before we dive into the complex hive of this incredible recipe, I feel it necessary to catch you up on what we’ve been doing during this brief hiatus, as we’ve not exactly been hibernating--quite the opposite, actually! For starters, I’ve been baking up a storm at the new coffee shop I opened with my partners about 8 months ago, called Golden Boy Coffee Co. It has occupied quite a lot of time, but it’s been one of the greatest thrills of my life so the sleepless nights and oven burns along my arms feel more than worth it.
A taste of what’s to come: honey caramel? We say, yes please!
Caitlin’s been working her butt off as well with navigating a new career pathway for herself (and we’re happy to report that she officially snagged the dream job she was hoping for!)! In addition to that, she’s been helping spearhead the You Are Here project with courtney marie and fellow members of Spiderweb. Partnering with local nonprofit DMAC Denton , they’ve come together to help artists in the Denton community gain access to mental health services!
And where do I even begin listing the amazing myriad of projects courtney marie’s been laboring towards?! On top of her ever expanding rap sheet, it’s an absolute honor to share that Spiderweb Salon just unveiled their highly-anticipated exhibit with the Dallas Museum of Art!! For this installation, fifty poets, writers, actors, and musicians wrote and recorded audio experiences inspired by the theme of gender + identity and works of art from the museum’s collection. This truly special exhibit, called collective | connection is on display at the DMA until January so you have plenty of time to go see it!
Wake & Bake babin’ it up at the opening reception for collective | connection at the Dallas Museum of Art. Photography by Frank Darko. Check out the full album of Spiderweb cuties here.
Heaven is getting to play in the kitchen with Caitlin. <3
We also released an album and have been busy working on our first book (more news on that soon)! WHEW! Now that you’ve been briefed on some of the happenings within the ‘web, let’s get down to bees-ness! Sorry, I should’ve mentioned prior to this moment just how many bee puns you should brace yourself for. We may not have posted in a few months, but we haven’t lost our love for bad puns ok? Bee prepared.
We gathered at the Spiderweb HQ ready to take on the day. It was like we’d never taken a break. We jumped right back into our usual groove of pounding coffee, pouring wine, and twirling in the kitchen. This particular recipe is one we’ve never attempted before, but looking at the structure and ingredients how could we not?! Bee sting cake, or Bienenstich, is a German yeasted cake with a caramelized honey + almond topping, and a vanilla pastry cream center…*wipes drool off keyboard* It’s said that this cake is referred to as a “bee sting cake” because bees were attracted to it and ended up stinging the baker who put it on the window sill to cool. How adorable is that?
The hive where our honey came from our in Argyle, TX! Thank you, Mama Joan!
courtney marie’s been learning how to keep bees (did I mention she was superwoman?) in her spare time so she was able to drive up the road to get freshly harvested honey from some local bees she’s been helping take care of, making this dessert that much sweeter. If you don’t have access to a local beekeeper, store bought honey is fine, just try to make sure it’s as local as you can get it so it’s somewhat fresh and/or to avoid over-pasteurization. Each batch of local honey is going to have a different flavor based on what kind of plants they’re pollinating in each region, but generally speaking, this dessert is a rich, honey lover’s dream.
Bee-hold our MASTERPIECE.
What’
After extensive research, we decided to use Smitten Kitchen’s recipe, because we have yet to try one of her recipes that didn’t turn out absolutely divine. The instructions are pretty straight forward like any other cake, except for the yeast element, which was new for us. The cake batter was enriched with active yeast and we had to let the dough rise a bit before baking. Like honey harvesting, good things come to those who wait, because the combination of crunchy almonds with the smooth pastry cream nestled in between two layers of dense, but fluffy cake...it was unbeelievable.
The best part about our return to the kitchen was the fact that we had so many friends to share our spoils with. Spiderfriends Anjelica and Mateo Franados were hanging with their wedding planners and a few other busy bees at HQ that day crafting and preparing for their wedding, which took place at Harvest House this past Saturday (Congrats sweet friends!!)! I selfishly got to indulge in my favorite part of group Wake & Bake sessions---watching other people enjoy the fruits of our labor. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut: everything was bee-autiful and nothing hurt :)
If you’d like to get a taste of some of these sweets, Wake & Bake will be setting up shop at the next BIG BIG Spiderweb showcase: S P I D E R D E A D, taking place on November 2 at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios! Come out for our community bake sale (yes, you can bring a treat to share too!) and try all the treats, AND all proceed will go toward providing therapy for local artists via the aforementioned You Are Here project, a collaboration with DMAC Denton. There will also be interactive art (get your photo taken in our coffin photobooth, perhaps?), a fresh new zine, and of course a beautiful showcase of music, poetry, performance art, and other mysterious collaborations by over 30 DFW-based creatives. It’ll be a fully immersive experience. Please wear black. For more information, visit our Facebook event, and don’t forget to invite your friends! We love you.
Reunited and it feels so good. We’re back, bay-bee.