The Beekeeper's Ball

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

PART ONE (#u8093f237-77c0-5447-bdcc-638412f7f45a)

A honeybee that is engaged in foraging for nectar will rarely sting, except when startled or stepped on. If a bee senses a threat or is alerted by attack pheromones, it will aggressively seek out and sting. The worker bee’s stinger is barbed, and when it lodges in the victim’s skin, it tears loose from the bee’s abdomen, causing its death within moments.

However, the queen’s stinger is not barbed.

The queen can sting repeatedly without dying.

Bee Sting Cake (#u8093f237-77c0-5447-bdcc-638412f7f45a)

The traditional Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake) is a complicated production of brioche dough and pastry cream, topped with a crunchy caramel made of almonds, honey and butter. This simplified version is every bit as delicious, particularly with your morning coffee.

DOUGH

2¼ cups flour

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

1½ teaspoons instant yeast

¾ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

¼ cup warm water or milk

Combine all of the dough ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to create a sticky, elastic ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled board and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth. If your mixer has a dough hook, use that for 4 to 7 minutes at medium speed. Place the dough in a bowl oiled with melted butter, turn to grease all sides, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour, until it looks soft and puffy.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled board, fold it over (you might hear a sigh of escaping gas), then roll into a ball. Place the dough in a buttered 10-inch springform pan. You can also use a 13 by 9-inch cake pan. Don’t worry if the dough shrinks away from the edge of the pan. Allow it to rest so the gluten will relax, making the dough easier to work with. After about 30 minutes, gently stretch and pat the dough out to the edges of the pan.

While the dough is resting, make the topping.

HONEY-ALMOND-CARAMEL TOPPING

6 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1½ cups sliced almonds

a pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the sugar, honey and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes to achieve a golden syrup. Stir in the almonds, let the mixture cool slightly, then spread gently over the cake dough.

Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until the almond crust has a deep golden color and the cake tests done with a toothpick. Set on a rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the pastry cream.

PASTRY CREAM

1 cup minus 2 tablespoons heavy cream,

whipped to soft peaks

2 cups vanilla custard or vanilla pudding.

Use homemade, store-bought, or pudding from a mix,

depending on your level of skill and commitment.

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Bärenjäger or other honey liqueur

Serve the cake in wedges or squares, with a side of pastry cream and a dram of Medovina, coffee or tea. Medovina is mead, a sweet wine made from honey. It’s the oldest known alcoholic beverage.

[Source: Adapted from a traditional recipe]

Chapter One (#u8093f237-77c0-5447-bdcc-638412f7f45a)

The first rule of beekeeping, and the one Isabel swore she would never break, was to remain calm. As she regarded the massive swarm of honeybees clinging to a Ligustrum branch, she feared she might go back on her word.

She was new to beekeeping, but that was no excuse. She thought she was ready to capture her first swarm. She’d read all the beekeeping books in the Archangel town library. She’d watched a dozen online videos. But none of the books and videos had mentioned that the humming of ten thousand bees would be the creepiest sound she’d ever heard. It reminded her of the flying monkey music in The Wizard of Oz.

“Don’t think about flying monkeys,” she muttered under her breath. And that, of course, guaranteed she would think of nothing else.