I don’t fully understand where or how monkey bread got its name, but I do know that I’m in love with the concept.  I’ve been wanting to make monkey bread for a while now, and I wouldn’t be me if the thought of adding pumpkin didn’t push me over the edge.  

I had a lot to get done yesterday, but I knew I had to bake since I spent all last weekend at Justin and Genevieve’s wedding. I woke up early to make this because I loved both the idea of starting my day by making the house smell amazing and the idea of giving my family something sweet to snack on all weekend.  I definitely made them happy with this one!

For those of you that have never made Monkey Bread before, it can be a time-consuming process.  As with any yeast-based dough, it needs at least two hours to rise twice.  But it’s worth it because it’s SO fun! You basically cut the dough into little balls, rolls each one in butter and cinnamon sugar, and layer them in a bundt pan. When the dough rises for a second time, the pieces come together and form the cake (see above). After you bake it, you flip it upside down, and you’re left with a perfect pull-apart cake! When finished, this cake was absolutely gorgeous and the best word to describe its taste would be ADDICTIVE.  Each piece is almost like a pumpkin donut hole.

A word of advice: the maple glaze in this recipe definitely needs a little milk to thin it out, and the cake only needs a drizzle of it to enhance it. 

Have fun making this one, and then watch your family devour it over the course of a day!

Recipe