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Try this extra fluffy monkey bread inspired by the flavors of China with fragrant jujube syrup and a buttery taste that’s impossible to resist!

Fluffy Monkey Bread with Jujube Syrup

5 from 1 vote
Try this extra fluffy monkey bread inspired by the flavors of China with fragrant jujube syrup and a buttery taste that’s impossible to resist!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Chinese Fusion
Keyword: holiday cooking
Servings: 8 to 12 servings
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

Bread

  • 3 cups (450 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (4 g) salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (4.5 g) instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) milk (Use 1 cup / 250 mL milk if hand knead) (*Footnote 1)
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter , melted and cooled

Syrup

  • 1/2 cup dried jujubes
  • 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter
  • 1/2 cup (170 g) packed light brown sugar (or regular sugar)

Coating

  • 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Garnish (Optional)

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Prep

  • Rinse the jujubes with tap water to remove the dust from the surface. Add the jujubes to a small bowl and 1/2 cup boiling water to cover. Let soak for a minimum of 1 hour, or up to overnight. Once done soaking, reserve the soaking liquid. Halve the jujubes using a paring knife and remove the pits by cutting them off. Discard the pits.
  • (Optional) Have a few extra tablespoons of softened butter ready for the forming process. You can use vegetable oil for this purpose as well.

Make the dough & 1st rise

  • In the bowl of the mixer, combine all of the bread ingredients. Attach the mixer with the hook, start on low, until a dough forms. Switch the mixer to setting 4 and knead for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can test the dough by stretching a piece into a thin sheet. It should be thin and semi-transparent without easily tearing apart.
  • Smear a thin layer of butter onto the inside of a big bowl and place in the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Make the jujube syrup

  • While the dough rises, add the soaked jujubes and soaking water to a blender or an immersion blender cup. Blend until a smooth paste forms. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it’s workable.
  • Combine the 4 tablespoons of butter with the jujube paste in a small pot and light brown sugar. Heat over medium-low heat. Cook and stir until the sugar is melted and the syrup is smooth. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside.

Make the coating

  • Combine the coating sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, mix well. Pour into a medium-sized tray or a big dish.

Assemble & bake

  • Smear a thin layer of butter onto a 10" bundt pan.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Once the dough has risen, punch it down, gently knead it a few times, and divide it into 4 even pieces.
  • Roll each piece into 4 long logs, about 1 ft (30 cm) long. Slice each long log into 15 pieces of dough, for a total of 60 doughs.
  • Grease your hands with a small amount of melted butter. Roll each piece of dough into a ball between your palms. Place each dough ball in the tray of sugar once formed.
  • Once the sugar tray is mostly filled, about half way through the rolling process, shimmy the tray to coat the dough balls with the cinnamon sugar. Roll the doughs with your hands to help coat evenly.
  • Distribute the dough balls throughout the greased pan. Sprinkle over a few pieces chopped nuts if using, and then drizzle a small amount of syrup.
  • Repeat steps 12 to 14 to fill the pan with coated dough balls, without pouring the syrup. Once all the dough balls are in the pan, cover with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
  • Just before baking, pour the rest of the syrup evenly over the dough (you can also reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons syrup to brush onto the crispy side of the bread if you wish).
  • Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check the bread after 25 minutes, and then at the 35-minute mark. If the surface of the bread starts to brown too much, cover the pan with a foil tent. Once done, the bread should be fluffy and golden brown on top. You can test the doneness by inserting a bamboo skewer and the skewer should come out clean.
  • Let the monkey bread cool for 10 minutes. Cover the pan with a large flat plate. Use one hand to hold the plate and the other hand to flip the pan. Remove the pan and now you can serve the bread.
  • (Optional) If you like the crispy side of the bread, you can flip the bread again and brush the reserved syrup onto the crispy side. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. The dough is designed for a standing mixer and it’s very wet. You should use less liquid (reduced from 1 1/4 cup to 1 cup) if you hand knead the dough so it’s easier to work with. It will make the texture slightly less fluffy but taste great nonetheless.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 345kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 6.3g, Fat: 9.6g, Saturated Fat: 4.8g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 265mg, Potassium: 128mg, Fiber: 1.4g, Sugar: 27.6g, Calcium: 59mg, Iron: 2mg