Inspired by Aladdin’s feisty sidekick, Abu’s Chai Spiced Monkey Bread is a sweet and spicy treat that pairs perfectly with homemade caramel sauce!
Course
Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword
Aladdin, Chai, Fall
Prep Time30minutes
Cook Time30minutes
Rest Time30minutes
Total Time1hour30minutes
Servings8servings
Ingredients
Monkey Bread Dough
2 ¾cupsall-purpose flour
2 ½teaspoonbaking powder
1 ¼cupswhole milk, warmed (110 F)
4teaspoonsinstant yeast
¾teaspoonsalt
2tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar
Chai Spice Sugar
⅔cupgranulated sugar
4teaspoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonground ginger
1teaspoonallspice
1teaspoonground cardamom
½teaspoonground cloves
10tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted, for greasing the pan and dipping the dough balls
Caramel Sauce
½cupwater
1 ¼cupgranulated sugar
½teaspoonsalt
1cupheavy cream
Equipment
112-cupbundt pan
pastry brush
Instructions
Chai Spiced Sugar
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cardamom, and ground cloves.
Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the monkey bread.
Monkey Bread Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the milk, yeast, butter, and sugar and whisk until the yeast dissolves.
Using a rubber spatula, stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until the dough comes together (it will be sticky).
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it until the dough forms a smooth, round ball (about 2 minutes).
Roll the dough out into a rectangle that’s about ½ inch thick.
Cut the dough into a grid, with each piece being about 1 inch in size.
Roll the dough pieces into balls by gathering the four corners and rolling it in your hands.
Assembly
Dip the pastry brush into the 10 tablespoons of melted butter and use some of it to grease the bundt pan. You should only need a couple tablespoons of the butter. Reserve the rest of the butter for dipping the dough balls.
Dip the dough balls into the melted butter and then into the sugar mixture, rolling them around until they’re fully covered. Place the sugar coated balls into the bundt pan, spreading them out into an even layer.
Cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 350 F and make the caramel sauce.
Bake the monkey bread for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding the monkey bread onto a serving plate.
Serve warm with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Caramel Sauce
Combine the water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring the mixture to a boil.
Cook, without stirring, until the mixture is medium amber colored, about 6 minutes. Gently shake or swirl the pan as needed.
Stirring constantly, pour in about ⅓ of the cream. The mixture will bubble. Once the bubbles have subsided, stir in another ⅓ of the cream. After the bubbles subside, stir in the remaining cream.
Reduce the heat to medium low and stir constantly until the cream is incorporated, about 3 minutes.
Transfer to a heat-safe bowl and let cool to a warm room temperature.