Carrot cake monkey bread (homemade and store-bought dough versions)

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Carrot cake is a classic Easter dessert. In fact, I’ve made several variations for the holiday in years past. This year I’m putting an entirely new spin on it by making carrot cake monkey bread.

Most people make traditional carrot cake with carrots and a combination of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. I also like to make my carrot cake with pineapple and pecans. This monkey bread encompasses those flavors but in a unique form.

So what is monkey bread? Monkey bread is a cake formed from pieces of dough coated in cinnamon and sugar, covered with a sugary sauce, and baked in a bundt pan. You eat it with your hands, just like a monkey. Most people serve it as a sweet breakfast treat or as a dessert.

I’ve made several variations of monkey bread in the past, including a blueberry lemon monkey bread and a pineapple upside down cake monkey bread, using store-bought biscuit dough. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! But with this variation, I really wanted the carrot cake flavors to stand out in the individual pieces, so I made the dough from scratch. But don't worry! I still included a recipe with store-bought dough.

There are a few differences between the version with the homemade dough and the version with the store-bought dough. The homemade dough is an enriched dough meaning it has fat and sugar. It is important to add the butter after the structure is established, otherwise the gluten network may not properly develop.

In the store-bought version, I can't incorporate the carrots into the dough, so instead, I scattered the carrots across the dough in the bundt pan with the crushed pineapple and pecan filling. Another difference: the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves are mixed in with the orange zest/sugar coating in the store-bought version.

Once your dough is ready, the process moves quickly. I like to set up an assembly line with my bowl of dough, melted butter, sugar coating, and bundt pan. Just dip the dough in the melted butter, then the sugar, and then place it in the bundt pan. Repeat the process with half the dough. Then add the pineapple and pecan mixture, and continue the assembly line with the rest of the dough.

Before baking the dough, I made a simple sauce by combining melted butter, brown sugar, and juice from the can of crushed pineapple. I poured it all over the top of the dough which will allow it to seep through to the bottom and coat each piece as it bakes.

Carrot cake isn't complete without cream cheese frosting! I used Challenge cream cheese for this recipe because I know they use hormone-free milk from local dairies, resulting in all-natural and high-quality products. 

Carrot cake monkey bread with homemade dough

Yield: 10 servings

Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1 cup (240 grams) whole milk, lukewarm
• 2 eggs (100 grams), beaten, room temperature
• 4 1/2 cups (540 grams) bread flour
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 grams) salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) Challenge unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
• 1 1/2 c (200 grams) carrots, grated

For the coating

• 1/2 cup (115 grams) Challenge unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 orange, zested

For the filling

• 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained but juice reserved for sauce and frosting
• 1/2 cup (65 grams) pecans, chopped

For the sauce

• 1/4 cup (57 grams) Challenge unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup reserved juice from can of crushed pineapple
• 1 cup (213 grams) brown sugar

For the frosting

• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (57 grams) confectioner's sugar
• 2 Tablespoons reserved juice from can of crushed pineapple
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

For the dough

1. Combine milk and eggs in large mixing bowl. Add bread flour, sugar, yeast, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
2. Knead everything together, using a mixer or by hand, to form a smooth ball of dough. Mix on first speed for 5 minutes to combine the ingredients, increase to second speed until dough develops and pulls away from sides of bowl. This may take up to 10 minutes. Dough will be sticky, but it should pull away from sides of bowl. If it doesn't, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Add half of butter on first speed and mix 2-3 minutes or until fully incorporated. Add remaining butter and mix on second speed 4-5 minutes until fully incorporated and dough “sheets” when window is pulled.
4. Add carrots and mix until evenly distributed throughout dough.
5. Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let double in volume at room temperature, around 90 minutes to 2 hours. 
6. De-gas dough and transfer onto pastry mat or lightly floured surface. 

For the coating and the filling

1. Prepare bundt pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Mix sugar and orange zest.
3. Create assembly line with melted butter, sugar mixture, and bundt pan.
4. Divide dough in half. Starting with first half, cut off small sections about 25 grams in size and shape into balls.
5. Dip 1 ball in butter, then sugar mixture, then place in bundt pan. Repeat with remaining pieces from first half of dough.
6. Mix pineapple and pecans and spread evenly over dough in bundt pan.
7. Repeat dough assembly line with second half of dough until there is no more dough.
8. Cover top of bundt pan with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes.

For the sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat butter, pineapple juice and brown sugar until mixture comes to boil.
3. Remove plastic wrap from bundt pan and pour sauce over dough.
4. Transfer bundt pan into oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Or until golden brown on top. If top browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Double check to see if dough is cooked through by testing with thermometer. Inside should register between 190 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto serving platter.

For the frosting

1. Beat together cream cheese with sugar, pineapple juice, and salt until smooth.
2. Once monkey bread is cool, pipe frosting down sides of monkey bread.
3. Serve monkey bread with any extra frosting for dipping.

Carrot cake monkey bread with store-bought dough

Yield: 10 servings

Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the rolls

• 24 frozen dinner rolls, thawed, or 2 (16 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) Challenge unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

• 1 1/2 c (200 grams) carrots, grated
• 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained but juice reserved for sauce and frosting
• 1/2 cup (65 grams) pecans, chopped

For the sauce

• 1/4 cup (57 grams) Challenge unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup reserved juice from can of crushed pineapple
• 1 cup (213 grams) brown sugar

For the frosting

• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (57 grams) confectioner's sugar
• 2 Tablespoons reserved juice from can of crushed pineapple
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

For the rolls

1. Prepare bundt pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Cut each roll or biscuit into 4 pieces and shape into ball.
3. Mix sugar, orange zest, and spices.
4. Create assembly line with melted butter, sugar mixture, and bundt pan.
5. Dip 1 dough ball in butter, then sugar mixture, then place in bundt pan. Repeat with half of dough balls.

For the filling

1. Mix carrots, pineapple and pecans and spread evenly over dough in bundt pan.
2. Repeat dough assembly line with second half of dough balls. 

For the sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat butter, pineapple juice and brown sugar until mixture comes to boil.
3. Pour sauce over dough in bundt pan.
4. Transfer bundt pan into oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Or until golden brown on top. If top browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Double check to see if dough is cooked through by testing with thermometer. Inside should register between 190 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto serving platter.

For the frosting

1. Beat together cream cheese with sugar, pineapple juice, and salt until smooth.
2. Once monkey bread is cool, pipe frosting down sides of monkey bread.
3. Serve monkey bread with any extra frosting for dipping.

Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Topping

Happy National Waffle Day! Today I was invited to celebrate at Fox59 by sharing a unique waffle recipe. In the past I've made brownie waffles and blueberry waffles and cinnamon waffles, but since today was a special holiday I wanted to make something more unique.

That very day that I was asked to do the segment, my mom told me about a recipe for carrot cake waffles that she saw in the newspaper. It was fate! I love carrot cake and I can't think of a more perfect spring treat. And instead of syrup I opted for cream cheese topping because everyone knows you can't have carrot cake without cream cheese.

In the past, I've been hesitant to make waffles because, let's be real, they're a pain to clean up! All of those little grids that you have to hand wash. But recently my dad got this Hamilton Beach waffle iron that is awesome because you can take the grids out and they're dishwasher safe! This post isn't sponsored by Hamilton Beach - it's just a little suggestion in case you don't already own a waffle iron.

Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Topping

Yield: About 4 waffles

Ingredients

For the waffles: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 4 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt 
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 2 eggs 
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (not drained) 
• 1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts  or pecans
• 2/3 cup packed grated carrot 
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the cream cheese topping:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

For the Waffles:

1. Heat waffle iron to medium-high.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, pineapple, nuts, carrot, buttermilk and vanilla.
4. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients just until combined. Batter will be very thick.
5. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and add 1 cup of batter, or an appropriate amount for your waffle iron.
6. Cook as directed for your waffle iron or until golden brown.

For the Cream Cheese Topping

1. Use a mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, or about 1 minute.
2. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and beat until incorporated and smooth.
3. Spread on finished waffles

Recipe Adapted from The Columbus Dispatch