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.

Blueberry Lemon Monkey Bread

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!

Every year on Mother’s Day I’m stumped. I have the hardest time trying to find a gift for my mother.

What do you get the most important woman in your world? What do you get the woman who gave you life… the woman who selflessly serves the needs of your family… the woman who compromises her sleep to ensure your well-being… the woman who loves you unconditionally?

If you have the answer, let me know. In the meantime, my mom’s getting a plant, ha!

But seriously, my mother is the hardest person to shop for. She’s definitely not a “material girl,” and she doesn’t care for perfumes or jewelry or purses. So if you’re in a similar situation, I recommend making your mom something to eat! The way to any woman’s heart is through her stomach. That saying is typically reserved for men, but trust me, it applies to women too!

This year for Mother’s Day I really wanted to make something unique. One of my favorite spring flavor combinations is blueberry-lemon, and somehow I got the idea that it would work well as a monkey bread. I always have monkey bread on my mind. And although it took a few tries to perfect, I love the way it turned out. I think it’s the most beautiful brunch recipe I’ve ever made.

I’m going to walk you through the process of how I made it so you don’t make the same mistakes I initially did.

The first step is to macerate your blueberries, and it’s important to note that you should allow plenty of time for this. If you don’t know, macerating draws out the natural juices in fruit so it develops a thin syrup. You do this by adding sugar to the bowl of berries. That’s really all it takes. Because blueberries have skin, the maceration process takes a bit longer. I recommend doing this step up at least several hours in advance. If you didn't prep that far ahead, don’t worry about! But try to at least let them macerate for a half hour.

Secondly, don't forget to add butter to the dough mixture! If you skip this step, the dough is more likely to stick to the pan. I always use Challenge butter because they use 100% real cream without any hormones, additives, or fillers, and I think it makes a big difference in the taste.

Next, when you add the blueberries to the bundt pan, add half of the biscuit dough first, then add all of the blueberries, and finish with the remaining biscuit dough. It’s important that the blueberry layer goes in the middle. I tried adding the blueberries a couple of different ways, and this looks the best by far!

Lastly, don’t wait too long to flip the monkey bread out of the bundt pan after you bake it! I like to invert the monkey bread onto a plate about 20 minutes after removing it from the oven. If you wait too long, it will stick to the pan and fall out in pieces. I’ve had that happen before, and it’s the worst!

Let me know if you make Blueberry Lemon Monkey Bread for your mom for Mother’s Day, and thank you to all of the strong, gracious mothers out there! You don’t hear it enough, but we appreciate you!

Blueberry Lemon Monkey Bread

Ingredients

Macerate the blueberries

• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the monkey bread

• 2 (16 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons lemon zest
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Macerate the blueberries

1. Combine blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice; set aside until ready to use. You can make this up to a day in advance.

For the monkey bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; prepare bundt pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. Cut each biscuit into quarters, and add dough to large bowl.
3. Add sugar and lemon zest to bowl, and mix until all of the sugar sticks to the dough.
4. Add melted butter to bowl, and mix until dough is coated.
5. Evenly spread half of dough along bottom of bundt pan; add all of the blueberries.
6. Finish by layering the remaining dough on top of the blueberries.
7. Bake monkey bread for 30 to 35 minutes, or until dough looks golden brown.
8. Let monkey bread cool for 15 to 20 minutes before inverting it onto a plate.

For the icing

1. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. The icing should be thick, but it should flow enough that you can still drizzle it. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
2. Drizzle icing over monkey bread and serve.

Recipe adapted from Mind Over Batter