How to Make a Honeycomb Bee Cake

Today I, show you how to make a Honeycomb Bee cake, complete with delicious honey candy. The honeycomb effect is created by using bubble wrap to encase the hidden black and yellow stripes inside the cake!

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A few weeks ago we took Paul’s mom to an appointment a few hours from where we live, and on the way we stopped at a local orchard/market. At the orchard, there was jars and jars of honey. When I saw them, I knew I had to make something with it. Immediately I thought of a honey cake, but when the idea of the honeycomb came to fruition, I knew what I was missing- honey all over the cake. I couldn’t very well just pour honey over the cake (well I guess you could) but I didn’t want to be cleaning honey up for forever. Finally, I decided on solidifying the honey and made it similar to how I make homemade hard candy.

Bubble wrap and chocolate, who would have thought they would go together? Normally when bubble wrap and I are in the same room together, one of us comes out flat and popped. It took every ounce of my being to not pop every single bubble in the miles of wrap I bought. You can find bubble wrap at office supply stores, or the post office but be careful when buying the roles of it as some of the ones I bought had entire sections popped due to manufacturing (I’m assuming since every role had the exact same popped area). The more puffy the bubbles are, the better the honeycomb effect will come out. Once you have successfully transferred the bubble wrap to the cake, place it into the fridge and let it solidify completely. You won’t be able to pull the wrap off if the chocolate isn’t set and completely hardened. Once it is, the wrap will easily come off. 

In this honeycomb cake video tutorial, I am using real chocolate. Can you believe it? No candy melts/chocolate wafers in this video! I feel like a grown up baker. I went with white chocolate Belgium mini wafers for my first adventure in chocolate art. For this project, regular chocolate is required as it will cool slower than candy melts will. You want to be able to move the chocolate wrap over to the cake once the chocolate isn’t tacky to your touch, but isn’t solidified. I moved the bubble wrap too late (won’t wrap around the cake and only breaks), and too early (chocolate slides around and bubbles lose indentation) when I was practicing making this cake. Neither of those stages will work . . . just wait for the chocolate to get “clean” to the touch.

Another element of this cake is the surprise bee stripes on the inside! I used my favourite vanilla cake recipe, and use gel paste to get the bright, vibrant colors. The honey candy was a must make in order to get the dripping honey effect.

How to Make a Honeycomb Bee Cake

Ingredients and Materials:

• Prepared 6″ Black vanilla cakes 
• Prepared 6″ yellow vanilla cakes
• Fondant- yellow, black 
• Prepared yellow vanilla buttercream
• Clean bubble wrap 
• Black flower stamens
• Honey candy (recipe below)

Procedure:

1. Prepare cakes according to the recipe. Slice each cake layer into two.
2. Stack the cake layers on a cake board, alternating color and stacking upright. 
3. Cover in yellow buttercream.
4. Melt chocolate at 50% power for one minute, stirring after each minute. Pour chocolate onto the bubble wrap, and use an offset spatula to smooth it out to cover the entire amount. Allow chocolate to harden for at least 15-25 minutes, or until the chocolate doesn’t stick to your finger when you touch it. 
5. Wrap bubble wrap section around the cake and transfer cake to the fridge to ensure the chocolate is completely hardened. Once hardened, carefully remove the bubble wrap.
6. Place additional chunks for honeycomb, honey candy, bees on top of the cake.
7. Keep cake in fridge until you are ready to serve . It is best consumed within 2-3 days.

How to Make Fondant Bees
Ingredients

• Black fondant
• Yellow fondant
• Black stamens

Procedure:

1. Using the top of a #12 piping tip, cut out 2 round circles from each colour. Press the colors together. 
2. Insert stamen for the antennas and stinger.

How to Make Honey Candy
Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Procedure:

1. Bring all items to a boil in a saucepan over medium/ high heat. Heat this, stirring constantly until the heat reaches 300F. 
2. Pour candies onto a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool completely