British Beekeeping Show

This is at Stoneleigh Park on 4th February 2023.  This is a far smaller show than the old Tradex at Stoneleigh.

https://www.britishbeekeepingshow.com/

 

The Beekeeping Show

This is a new show on the 25th February 2023 @ Telford.  This has more of the big names that you would expect and looks a lot more like the old Tradex.

https://www.thebeekeepingshow.co.uk/

Note that neither of these shows are anything to do with the BBKA so don’t confuse their names with anything to do with the BBKA.

 

The BBKA Spring Convention

The BBKA’s annual spring show and convention is on 21st – 23rd April @ Harper Adams college.  They start to advertise & start ticket sales at the end of Jan so I would expect more details available then.  There is a trade show as well as many education talks that might be of interest.  The trade exhibition is usually fairly large and the educational programme is designed to support all levels and a broad range of interests.

https://www.bbka.org.uk/spring-convention-2022-updates

2020 has been an unusual year for beekeepers, and bees in so many ways.  One surprise was dark honey flowing into hives across Birmingham in the late summer. But what was the source?  Local beekeeper John Gale has been investigating and has come up with three possibilities.

Checking his pollen identification charts, John thinks his source is likely to be the majestic white and red horse chestnuts in his area.

A second option is that the dark nectar is in fact honeydew from the local lime/fir trees.  Honeydew usually contains a higher antioxidant, antibacterial activity level, and mineral content than regular nectar honeys and is much prized in many parts of the world.  However, for those of you who are squeamish look away now. The source of honeydew is essentially aphid poo.  Yes you read that correctly as aphids feeding the sap of lime/fir trees extrude a sweet substance on which honey bees feed. Nice!

There is a third possibility.  That the dark crop could result from the bees collecting acorn sap. This is similar to honeydew as it results from a weevil eating through the skin of the acorn and secreting a sweet substance which the bees then collect and process.

To help solve the conundrum John has sent samples of his honey off to the National Honey Monitoring Scheme. The aim of the scheme is to understand national scale patterns in the way honeybees exploit the natural environment.  They undertake DNA analysis and provide both sugar/water concentrations as well as data on the habitats surrounding hives. If the dark honey is from chestnut trees the pollen will show up in John’s samples.  If either the aphids or acorn weevil are responsible there won’t be any pollen.

Whatever the source, across the city we are savouring this very special honey which is silky smooth with a deep and delicious caramel taste.

 

 

Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich)

Bee Sting Cake or Bienenstich is a German Custard Cake made of honey and almonds with a vanilla custard or buttercream/cream filling to suit.

Rumour has it, (or Wikipedia, rather!) there is a legend of 15th century German Bakers throwing beehives (poor bees!!!) at raiders from a village nearby. This worked as a successful deterrent and the bees were celebrated for their sacrifice, with this cake!

Feel free to celebrate the bees and maybe even this years successful honey crop, by giving the recipe below a try:-

Ingredients

 

For the cake mix:

4 eggs

150g caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

125g plain flour

2 level teaspoons baking powder

50g ground almonds

 

For the topping:

50g unsalted butter

50g sugar

4tbsp honey

Pinch of salt

50g sliced almonds

 

For the custard filling:

400ml double cream

1 (75g) sachet instant custard powder

 

Method

 

Prep: 15 min > Cook 30 min

 

1. 1. For the pastry, add eggs to a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy (for about 6 minutes) Gradually add sugar and vanilla sugar whist beating.
   2. Preheat oven to 170 C / Gas Mark 3-4
   3. In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder and fold into egg mixture. Fold in ground almonds last.
   4. Grease a 26cm springform tin and dust with flour. Spread mixture in tin.
   5. For the topping: Put the butter, sugar, honey and salt into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sliced almonds. Evenly spread this over the cake mixture.
   6. Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown for about 30 mins and let cool for at least 2 hours.
   7. Prepare the custard following the packet instructions, replacing boiling water with the double cream.
   8. Slice cake in half horizontally and spread filling.
   9. Refrigerate until serving.

 

Please feel free to comment and let us know if it tastes as good as it looks!