3-Layer Honeycomb "Bee My Valentine" Cakes

To celebrate Valentine's Day, I made honeycomb "bee my valentine" mini mousse cakes! With this dessert, I wanted to highlight the importance of bees and how they help preserve our natural ecosystems.

I started off by baking a vegan vanilla sponge cake and then added a layer of orange-flavored mousse, topped off with agar jelly. Make sure each layer has properly cooled prior to adding the next. After all the layers had set, I used a hexagon-shaped cookie cutter to resemble a honeycomb shape. To further enhance the honeycomb, I melted white chocolate and tinted it orange, then used a clean sheet of bubble wrap to mold the holes in the honeycomb. I made the bees with yellow and black fondant, and assembled everything together! I also added some agar jelly to a few of the honeycomb cells to make it look like it's filled with honey!

Bees are one of the fastest pollinators on the planet, since one singular bee colony can be responsible for pollinating up to 300 million flowers each day. They are extremely important to humans as we rely on their pollination efforts help sustain our modern food systems. 

 

The significant decline of bees has extremely harmful consequences for the ecosystem. For example, pollination fertilizes plants and provides conditions which allow for floral growth, establishing environments for other organisms. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N. has specified that 78-94% of the Earth's seed producing plants are dependent on pollinators, such as bees, to live. Without bees, our diets would be heavily impacted as well. For example, we would experience a scarcity of fruits, nuts, and vegetables that provide variety to our meals.

 

Climate Change is one of the prominent threats to bees because of its detrimental effects of habitat loss, shifting temperatures, and disease. Pesticide use has also had a negative impact on honeybee colonies because of a specific pesticide called neonicotinoid, which is poisoning bees. Air pollution is another factor which poses a major threat to the bee population. The substantial amount of carbon emissions break down the scent molecules of plants and confuse bees in their search for flower scents, eventually resulting in the bees taking longer to find food.

 

Some ways that you can help save the bees are by supporting sustainable beekeepers, buying organic and pesticide-free products, and planting native flowers to attract bees. Planting a bee garden provides a safe habitat for them where they can build homes and find nutritious food sources. Making sure that your garden stays chemical-free can go a long way since synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and neonicotinoids can be really harmful for bees. Using natural and organic products instead helps to strengthen soil heath and attract beneficial insects which keep harmful pests away. Another simple thing you could do to help the bees are creating bee baths by filling up a bowl with clean water and pebbles or stones to break the water's surface. This helps the bees quench their thirst with a refreshing drink amidst their constant foraging and collecting of nectar.

Sources:

The buzz on climate change: It’s bad for bees (conservation.org)

Why Are Bees Dying and Why We Should Save Them – 24/7 Wall St.

BEE AWARENESS MONTH - HOW YOU CAN HELP SAVE THE BEES | Travel for Difference

10 Ways to Save the Bees - The Bee Conservancy

This cake was featured in the "Reader's Cakes" section of Cake Masters Magazine Feb 2022 issue, found here: https://cakemastersmagazine.com/product/february-2022-rainbow-cakes/