Up until very recently my father has been a beekeeper. He had bee hives at our home in Vermont and then drove them, full of bees to Minnesota. Due to a city ordinance he was not allowed to keep bees in his Edina yard and had to set them up at a friend’s house farther out of the city. My dad would drive out on the weekends to tend to them. His love for bees was made more complicated by the fact that he is very allergic to their sting. He swells up like a balloon when stung, but this never deterred him, even though it seemed to happen with some regularity. As a result of his love for bees I have always had a fondness for them and the delicious nectar they produce. Growing up we ate the precious honey he collected on everything from homemade granola to freshly baked bread. In fact, I never knew any sweetener other than honey and maple syrup before I was about 6. Sugar, in any form, didn’t exist in our house.
This beehive cake is a tribute to both the elegance and ingenuity of honeybees, which are in terrifying danger of disappearing. Hopefully more folks like my dad will step up and continue the tradition. The shape of this cake is based on an ancient beehive called a skep, which was made of a coiled basket. My dad’s bees were kept in a box hive, but that isn’t nearly as romantic. Under the hovering marzipan bees are layers of banana cake, walnuts and honey scented buttercream.
How to Make a Beehive Cake
Find an updated version of this recipe from my book, Zoë Bakes Cakes, below.
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, and salt. 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 beehive cake, use an Icing Spatula and create a spiral by slowly spinning the Revolving Cake Stand
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.
Ingredients
Banana Cake Batter
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups (450g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups (480g) mashed very ripe bananas about 4 large
- 3/4 cup (175ml) mild-flavored oil such as vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
Marzipan Bees
- 1/4 cup (55g) marzipan
- Black gel food coloring
- Gold luster dust
- 1/4 cup (25g) raw sliced almonds
Crushed Praline
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (60g) whole or chopped pecans
- pinch sea salt
Honey Buttercream
- 1 1/2 cups (510g) honey
- 1 cup (240ml) egg whites (from about 6 eggs) at room temperature
- 3 cups (660g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup very strong espresso or 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon espresso powder diluted in 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract Homemade Vanilla Recipe
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Yellow paste food coloring
Instructions
Banana Cream Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 175 degrees C. Generously grease a 9 by 13-inch (24 by 36cm) cake pan (or three 8-inch by 20cm cake pans), then line it with greased parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir together until just combined.
- In another bowl, using a whisk, whip the heavy cream to medium peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the batter, then fold in the walnuts (if using).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly using a small offset spatula. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to release excess air bubbles.
- Bake until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (about 30 minutes for 8-inch rounds). Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan, then invert it t onto a serving platter.
Marzipan Bees
- Take twelve small pieces of the marzipan and roll between your fingers, until they are a 1/2-inch (1.3cm) long narrow cylinder or capsule shape. Taper one end slightly to become the back of the bee.
- Using a food-safe paintbrush or a toothpick and black food coloring, paint stripes on the marzipan. Let the stripes dry. Then, using a small, clean paintbrush, paint. gold luster dust between the black stripes.
- Press the sliced almonds into the sides of the marzipan to create the bees’ wings. Put the finished bees on a toothpick and set them aside.
- In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulverize the praline until there are small bits about the size of pine nuts or smaller-but not as fine as powder.
- In two separate bowls, divide the buttercream in half and add the praline to one batch and stir a few drops of yellow food coloring into the other.
- Invert one of the cake rounds onto a serving plate.
- Using an offset spatula, spread half of the praline buttercream over the cake, making sure it goes all the way to the edge. Place the second cake round over the frosting and spread with the remaining praline buttercream. Top with the cake baked in the bowl (trim the bottom flat) as the final layer.
- If desired, at this point, you could crumb-coat the cake with some of the yellow buttercream.
- Put a thick layer of yellow buttercream over the cake. Using a small icing spatula, and starting at the top of the cake, create a spiral by slowly spinning the cake turner and moving the spatula downward.
- Place the bees’ toothpick into the cake to create the illusion of bees buzzing around. Serve the cake immediately.
Crushed Praline
- Line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup and let melt, without stirring.
- Allow the mixture to boil until the sugar just starts to turn amber along the edge. You can now stir without fear of crystalizing.
- When the caramel is evenly deep amber throughout and just starting to smoke, turn off the heat and stir in the pecans and salt. Immediately pour the nut mixture in a thin layer onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Let the mixture cool completely, then transfer to a food processor and pulse until the praline is pulverized and there are no pieces larger than a pine nut.
- Transfer the praline in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry spot for up to 3 days.
Honey Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the honey and egg whites.
- Put 1 inch (2.5cm) of water in the bottom of a double boiler or a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Place the bowl with the egg mixture over the simmering water and stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until melted (140 degrees F / 60 degrees C) and thin.
- Place the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until the egg foam is light, fluffy, and glossy and the bowl feels just about room temperature. (If the egg foam isn’t cooled sufficiently, the butter will melt when you add it.)
- Once the egg foam is whipped and cooled, turn the mixer speed to medium, add the butter, 2 Tbsp at a time, and beat until incorporated. Once you have finished adding the butter and it has mixed for about 1 minute, the buttercream will be creamy and glossy looking again. Turn the speed to low; add the espresso (if using), vanilla, and salt; and mix until well blended.
- Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Hi! I was wondering if these cake layers can be baked two days in advance and frosted the night before serving?
Also, can Zoe’s twinkies be made two days in advance (just the cake portion). Thank you for your help!
Zoe! I can’t wait to make this cake. On the show you used a peanut butter buttercream. I cannot find that anywhere. The chocolate butter cream that sys it will show you how to change it from chocolate/espresso to peanut butter does not show how to switch the recipe. Did I missed something?
Hi Lola, the cake from Zoë’s book (and in this post!) is slightly different than the one she makes on the show, so you can find the exact recipe from the show here. Enjoy!
Recipe instructs you to whip whipping cream, but whipping cream is not in the list of ingredients so I don’t know how much to use. Instructions also call for cinnamon, but it too is not in list of ingredients. I would really like to try this recipe, but I am not sure how it will turn out without knowing the proper amounts of the unlisted ingredients.
Hi Wanda! Apologies for the confusion and thank you for pointing this out. I have updated this post. The original cake recipe was updated to match Zoë’s cake cookbook and the reference to cinnamon was accidentally left in the blog post. I also added the 1 cup heavy whipping cream called for in the cake. We hope you enjoy this recipe!
Just adorable, the bee hive shape is too cute!
How creative. The end result looks pretty much taller that the 2 cakes together 🙂
You are so clever Zoe, I just love following your blog and your classes (and books). Thanks for the strory about your dad! I can tell you admire and love him very much!
Thank you Debbi!
Cheers, Zoë
oops… i was babbling on and on so much that i forgot to ask how long the marzipan bees stay fresh and edible.
Hi. If they are stored well they can last for weeks. Wrap them very well and keep them in a zip lock or other container where they won’t dry out or be in humidity.
Thanks, Zoë
since moving to my forever home in the pacific northwest, i have been going nuts over the many varieties of local honey. as my furry four-legged boy and i put in our 60k+ driving miles to soak in the blessings of this paradise, i couldn’t help but notice the crazy number of beehive keepers bringing it like no one’s business. yesterday found me pinning a chocolate honey cake with marzipan bees due to having honey on the brain from a recent two-honey jar roadside stand purchase near mount rainier the week before. now throw in the delight of seeing this post in my email this morning… it is all just too weird lovely wonderful for words. fyi: biscuit batch #2 fills the air with wonderful smells as i type because batch #1 was adored and devoured yesterday for breakfast and evening snack time. it seems to be all about zoe around here. forever grateful for each of your shares 🙂
Great minds think alike! 🙂
I am so glad you are enjoying the biscuits. They’d be great with honey!
Cheers, Zoë
I’ve made this once before and I am about to make it again. its fantastic
Love the cake, I was wondering if you could tell me if the bees harden at all when sitting. Also if I’m making this up a day ahead should the bees be kept covered?
Hi Aubrei,
They do harden a bit, but that is desirable. Don’t cover them if it is just overnight.
Thanks, Zoë
Made this cake today as a trial run for my daughter’s bee themed birthday party. Used a Dolly Varden tin and baked for an hour. Worked really well. Tasted wonderful. Didn’t try the buttercream today as I wanted to know how you think the buttercream would work out if I was to pipe concentric circles up around the cake to give the hive look? I’ve never worked with Swiss buttercream before and wonder how it will hold up.
Hi TLee,
I think it will work just great!
Enjoy, Zoë
Can’t do bananas, what can I use in it’s place?
Hi Anna,
You can make the same shape cake with any other cake recipe. You don’t want to use something that is extremely delicate, but something like my devil’s food recipe would work well. http://zoebakescom.bigscoots-staging.com/2008/01/06/not-your-average-devils-food-cupcakes/
Cheers, Zoë
If you let one more question, how mach butter in grams I need for banana cake? Thank you Zoe!