Apple Rum Monkey Bread

This Apple Rum Monkey Bread will steal the show, every time. In a nutshell, it is basically cinnamon bun dough, stuffed with apple pie filling, and drenched in a glaze of brown sugar and rum. I mean, I can hardly think of anything better!

So you can imagine my excitement when I dreamt this concoction up a few years ago. I could hardly wait to get this killer recipe banged out. 

If you love baking recipes like this then you need to try my easy one bowl banana bread, or my recipe for THE BEST cinnamon buns!

On another note, Whipped It Up turns ONE today!! We are a little in shock at how fast a whole year has flown by, and we thank each and every one of you for reading our posts, making our recipes, and all of your support! ?

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What Do you need to make this recipe

Here is a list of the equipment you will need to execute this recipe.

1. Bundt Pan
2. Stand Mixer with a Dough Hook
3. Rolling Pin
4. Pizza Cutter or Sharp Knife
5. Large Glass Bowl

A few things you should know…

Do not make this recipe if you are in a rush!

This apple rum monkey bread takes a while to come together, between the multiple steps, rising time, and baking time. Make sure you have some time, it is totally worth it!

Don’t kill the yeast!

Yeast can be killed easily, especially if your liquid that it is blooming in is too hot. Lukewarm water is the best environment for yeast to initially bloom. If you want to get technical, the water or liquid the yeast is blooming in should be no warmer than 110°F. If your yeast still doesn’t bloom, it may just simply be bad. You should toss it and start over with new yeast. After a package of yeast is opened it is best kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  

Does the type of apples used really matter?

The short answer, no. BUT, some types of apples don’t stand up to cooking as well as others. I recommend using a harder variety of apple. If honeycrisp apples aren’t available look for granny smith, pink lady, or ambrosia. Steer clear of red delicious, macintosh, and any of the softer fleshed varieties. 

Let’s bake!

The first step to this recipe is making the dough. The dough takes two hours to rise. You will start by letting the yeast bloom in the warm water and then adding a slurry of the remaining sugar, butter, eggs, milk, salt, etc. 

* You can substitute nut milks for regular milk, I have tested this recipe using regular milk and unsweetened almond milk and you seriously won't be able to tell the difference one way or the other. 

Next, using a stand mixer with the dough hook attached you will add your flour in batches, and mix until a sticky dough has formed. 

This is what the dough will look like at the end of mixing in the stand mixer. 

Now you will get your hands in there and knead that dough into a pretty little dough ball like the one below. Add as much extra flour as you need, but add it slowly. When you are done kneading, the surface you were kneading the dough on should be basically clear of all excess flour.

Place the dough ball in a large glass bowl that has been lightly drizzled with olive oil, turn the dough over and around to fully coat the ball of dough in a thin layer of oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours in a warm area. 

Did you know- some ovens have a “bread proof” setting. If your oven has this setting, use it! It is wonderful and provides the optimal environment for any dough to rise. 

Another thing to note, when any yeast based bread is rising, try not make super loud noises. This can cause the air pockets being created in the bread to pop and release the gasses prematurely, resulting in your bread turning out dense and heavy. It is also a great excuse to demand some quietness around the house for two hours. ?

This is the perfect time to make the apple filling and glaze for the monkey bread

While the dough is rising, this is the time to make your apple filling and glaze. These both need to marinate for at least 30 minutes before making the monkey bread. 

After the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap, and punch it down a few times. Turn the dough out onto a large, generously floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a large oval, that is about ½”-¼” thick. 

Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into about 32 pieces. Start by cutting the dough in half lengthwise, and then each of the lengthwise halves in half again. Now you will have 4 long strips of dough. Now cut the strips in half widthwise, and then each width half in half again, and again. This will give you 32 squares. All of the squares may not be identical in size, but that is ok! 

Stuffing the monkey bread

Before you start filling your squares, set aside ¼ cup of the apple filling, and ½ cup of the glaze. This will be boiled down into the most delicious sticky topping for the monkey bread!

If you have made apple pie before, you will know that as the apples sit with the spices excess liquid is drawn out of the apples. We do not want this excess liquid to going into the monkey bread balls or they will be difficult to properly seal. We also don’t want to miss out on all of that yumminess, so, place a strainer on top of the bowl of rum glaze and strain the apple mixture into the glaze mixture.

Now, spoon out about 1 tablespoon of apple filling into each of the squares. Some of the smaller squares will take less filling and some of the larger ones will hold a little more. If you do not use up all of the apples, don’t worry, we're going to layer those throughout the monkey bread dough balls!

now, it is starting to look like monkey bread!

Working one square at a time, gather the 4 corners of dough square and pinch the bottom to completely seal the monkey bread dough balls. Repeat until all of the dough balls are sealed. 

Stack the dough balls into the buttered bundt pan. If you have any leftover apples sprinkle them throughout the layers, if not, that’s ok! It will still taste the same. 

Whisk the rum glaze again, to recombine everything. Evenly pour the rum glaze overtop of the dough balls in the bundt pan. 

Place the bundt pan on an aluminum lined baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown. Let the monkey bread cool in the bundt pan for 5 minutes and then flip onto a large serving plate.

Sticky Apple Topping

To prepare the sticky apple topping combine reserved apples and glaze in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes until mixture has thickened and is sticky. Then stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. 

After the monkey bread has been flipped onto the serving tray, pour the sticky apple topping over top.

Serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

We put a lot of work into our recipes, we would love to know if you tried this recipe and how it turned out for you!

If you have any questions about this recipe, I would be happy to answer them in the comments down below! 

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