What to do with an insect theme?

What to do with an insect theme for I certainly was not going to be cooking up the real thing, there are some  ingredients that I absolutely will not touch!  So for week 27 of the cookbook challenge, I scoured far in advance as I didnt want to be stuck coming up with a last minute recipe.  I found this 'Bee-Sting' cake in my Good Living 'Winter' cookbook that my mum bought be for Christmas, it's a collection of recipes from Stephanie Alexander, Brigitte Hafner & Jill Dupleix drawn from the Sydney Morning Herald's food and wine section.  This is a Brigitte Hafner recipe, there is no explanation of the cake in the book so a quick google & I have found that it's a traditional German cake so called Bee-Sting as it is topped with honey.  There seem to be many very different versions around, I have never even heard of it before, I think it may have been popular a while back.

 The cake is made of a batter & topped with a nut/butter/honey mixture, then baked, cooled, halved & filled with a custard butter.  It's a delicious, dense cake that is made a bit special with the rich custardy filling.   It is being thoroughly enjoyed by us & visitors who happen to be around this weekend, though I wouldnt make it again as there were a lot of steps & pots & pans used, for that much effort it has to be a 5 star recipe in this house.  It is something different though & worth trying at least once.

Bee-Sting Cake - Good Living Winter

Cake

75g unsaled butter, soft
75g caster sugar
1 egg
250g self-raising flour, sifted
6 tablespoons milk

Topping

50g whole almonds
50g whole hazelnuts
75g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 tspn milk
1 tablespoon honey

Custard

250ml milk
30g custard powder
50g sugar
100g butter, soft

For the cake.  Preheat oven to 170c.  Cream together the butter and sugar until pale & thick.  Beat in the egg, then gently fold in the flour and milk.  Combine until you have a soft dough.  Grease and line the bottom of a 26cm springform tin.  Spoon the mixture into the tin and level it out.

For the topping.  Grind the nuts until quite coarse.  In a frying pan, gently heat nuts with the butter, suagr and milk, stirring until the butter has melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the honey.  Allow to cool slightly then pour over the cake batter and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

For the custard.  In a small bowl, combine just enough milk to dissolve the custard powder & make a smooth paste.  Now combine the paste & the remainder of the milk and sugar in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, until it thickens and boils.  Cook for another minute, remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Beat butter until creamy and, when the custard has become lukewarm (the custard should not be too warm, as it will melt the butter), whip butter and custard together until combined & fluffy.

When the cake has cooled, slice through the middle.  Fill with the custard, replace the top & serve.  Serves 10-12