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Cashew Caramel Monkey Bread

Cashew Caramel Monkey Bread
  • Prep 10 hr 30 min
  • Total 11 hr 5 min
  • Servings 1
A buttery, pull-apart loaf with an ooey-gooey, crunchy topping. A deliciously sweet way to warm up your kitchen on a cool Sunday morning.
By Girl Versus Dough
Updated November 17, 2014

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted (for dipping)
  • 4 ounces (about 1 stick) butter
  • 4 ounces (about 8 tbsp) brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup cashews, finely chopped

Steps

  • 1
    Dissolve yeast and a pinch of sugar in warm water in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, bring milk to nearly a boil, about 190 degrees (or until bubbles form). Remove from heat and stir in shortening and sugar until dissolved. Place saucepan in freezer or refrigerator until lukewarm.
  • 3
    Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture and add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat until smooth.
  • 4
    Pour dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
  • 5
    In the meantime, melt 1 stick of butter, brown sugar and cashews in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture evenly into the bottom of a Bundt pan, tube pan or monkey bread pan.
  • 6
    Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in the microwave and allow to cool slightly (do NOT put in pan).
  • 7
    Divide risen dough into round balls about 2 inches in diameter. Dip each ball into cooled, melted butter and arrange in layers in the pan above the butter-sugar-cashew mixture. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or about 8 hours.
  • 8
    The next morning, place refrigerated pan in the oven next to or above a broiler tray. Pour 2/3 cup boiling water into the broiler tray and immediately close the oven door. Allow to steam for 20 minutes.
  • 9
    Remove tray and pan from oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Bake bread for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before running a blunt knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Invert pan on a round plate and serve warm.

No nutrition information available for this recipe

  • There are some breads out there that have no excuses.

    They are not good for you in any way, shape or form. They are loaded with butter, doused in butter, ooey-gooied in butter.

    This is one of those breads. But it is oh. So. Good.

    This Cashew-Caramel Monkey Bread is not for the faint of heart, for the lackadaisical, for the idle eater. Once you pull off a chunk of this bread, warm and deliciously dripping in homemade caramel and sprinkled with crunchy cashew bits, eating will become your sole mission. You will be helpless. You may eat the whole thing in one sitting. Others may do well to stay out of your way.

    The mixture of crunch and salt from the cashews and the buttery, sweet topping of soft caramel make this bread an indulgent breakfast, mid-morning snack, afternoon snack or dessert. Heck, if you want to eat it for lunch or dinner, too, no one's here to judge. Just be sure to have a lot -- I mean a LOT -- of butter on hand before making this bread. Also, practice the utmost care when preparing the caramel, as any splatters will be very, very hot.

    One last thing -- eat it right out of the oven. Not a week later, when it's hard as a rock (this bread, unfortunately, does not keep well), not a few days later when it's gone rather stale, not even an hour later when that warmth is no longer penetrated throughout the fluffy bread, or when the caramel has hardened too much and makes it more difficult to eat. It's a finicky bread, yes, but trust me, it's undeniable. But I doubt you'll have much trouble getting rid of it right away.

    Stephanie (aka Girl versus Dough) joined Tablespoon to share her adventures in the kitchen. Check out Stephanie's Tablespoon member profile and keep checking back for her own personal recipes on Tablespoon!
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