Chocolate Monkey Bread

Wow your brunch crowd with this irresistibly sweet and gooey Chocolate Monkey Bread.

Active Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
1 hrs 30 mins
Yield:
Serves 12 (serving size: about 4 pieces)

Wow your brunch crowd with this irresistibly sweet and gooey take on monkey bread. Our Test Kitchen compared this pull-apart bread to cinnamon-sugar mini donuts covered in a caramel and chocolate glaze. If that doesn't make you want to stop and bake them immediately, you'll also love that they are made with frozen yeast roll dough. Make the caramel sauce just before you put the dough in the pan so that the caramel stays soft enough to pour over the dough.

Chocolate Monkey Bread
Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen

Ingredients

  • Cooking spray

  • 1 cup (8 oz.) salted butter

  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

  • 2 (25-oz.) packages frozen yeast roll dough (such as Bridgford Parker House Style Rolls Dough), thawed in refrigerator overnight

  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 2 ounces semisweet chocolate baking bar, chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 15-cup Bundt pan liberally with cooking spray.

  2. Heat butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium, and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted, about 1 minute. Pour half of caramel mixture into greased Bundt pan.

  3. Stir together granulated sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut each dough piece in half, and roll each piece in cocoa mixture. Stack coated pieces in pan on top of caramel mixture. Sprinkle any remaining cocoa mixture over top of dough, and drizzle with remaining caramel mixture.

  4. Place Bundt pan on a large rimmed baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven until edges are browned and dough is cooked, about 55 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on a wire rack; immediately invert onto a cake plate. (If you let it sit any longer, sugar will harden and it will be hard to remove from pan.)

  5. During last 5 minutes of baking, place cream in a microwavable bowl, and microwave on HIGH until bubbly, about 1 minute. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl, and pour hot cream over chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute. Gently whisk until blended, smooth, and shiny. Let stand until slightly thickened and cooled, 15 to 20 minutes. Drizzle chocolate ganache over warm monkey bread.

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