Looking at the recipe, I agree - it reads more like the recipe for a giant scone. Most recipes I've seen use yeast-risen dough - maybe this was written as a quick alternative. I've often wanted to try Monkeybread, so I might try this as a non-gluten free recipe and see how it works out.
It sounds delicious with the mix of fruit and nuts that you used!
Our cake tasted like freshly baked doughnuts. We loved it. I did wonder about not having any eggs or yeast but I didn't feel the cake suffered for not having them - brilliant with a coffee.
Awww, I'm really sorry this recipe didn't turn out for you :( I personally thought it was great! The cake was light and airy, and it kind of reminded me of doughtnut holes :D
For me, it was very coffee cake like, rather than the typical yeasty Monkey bread that I've had before. However, it was light and not dense and scone like like you described. I'm wondering if it was the gluten free additions that resulted in the texture of your cake??? I'm sorry it wasn't what you were expecting though. Perhaps you canexperiment with other recipes and will have better luck.
Hey Katie , ur cake aint that bad looking , i think its pretty and kudos to u for trying it with different flours. Mine was or rather is , moist and soft and pull apart or sliced , jus as good , but then i used AP flour. My only change was lots of vanilla :-))
Am so happy i baked along this recipe , super cool!
Hey u know Katie , i thought we finish baking all the cakes in one book and then move to another one , wouldn that have been so wonderful ?
I would have loved to bake all the cakes from Cake keeper and then have moved along to another book but ofcourse am ok with whatever u guys decide too!
"a mountainous giant scone thingy" can only be a thing of joy! I agree it doesn't look much like monkey bread (which has been on my "to bake" list forever) but it does look awesome in its own right!
22 August 2011 at 08:16
Anonymous said...
Hy mother has always made monkey bread cake! Which has somehow transformed it´s name into monkey ball cake in our home and it is always a huge hit!
Don't worry, my first cake turned out like a biscuit/scone texture, good but not so much a "Cake keeper" cake. So this past weekend I was determined to improve it. I added 1/2 c. more buttermilk, and melted my topping on low heat, just enough to make into a syrup. It was awesome! It had more of a cake texture, and the caramel coated the cake wonderfuly! Now its a "Cake keeper"!
Hi !! I really love your blog! I follow you :D ... maybe if you want, you could visit my blog too ( I hope you like it ;) ) I´ll be waiting for you! Kisses! http://modacapitalblog.com
23 September 2011 at 00:17
[Image]I was really excited when this cake won this months vote. I’d never heard of Hungarian Coffee Cake before, but apparently it is also known as Monkey Bread which I have been seeing for years popping up on various blogs. Its something I’ve always longed to try, yet never got round to, so now was my chance.
The idea behind the strange name of Monkey Bread is that the cake is made up of balls of dough, which are rolled in cinnamon sugar, before being stacked into a Bundt tin and baked. The rounds of cinnamon crusted dough can then be pulled off in their ball shapes, like a sort of tear and share bread. I assume the logic behind the name is that you can pick at it with your fingers, like a monkey. Click here, here and here to see some great examples.
[Image]
I had high hopes for this cake but I ended up being quite disappointed. I’m not sure if it was a bad recipe or if I did a bad job at adapting it to be gluten free but it ended up more scone-like in texture than doughy balls of cake/bread. Looking at the recipe, I strongly suspect it’s the recipes fault. The cake part itself contains no eggs and no sugar. The dough is rolled in a cinnamon sugar and topped with a sugar/butter sauce, but the balls of dough were a little bland, making them appear even more scone-like. I’m sure its meant to also contain yeast.
[Image]
Once baked, the cake was very crumbly, causing it to break and collapse slightly when I released it from the tin. It also disintegrated when I tried to take a bite, meaning I had to eat it with a fork and spoon rather than my fingers. The ball shaped pieces of dough also expanded and merged together, meaning it was impossible for me to break off a clean piece, it sort of fell how it wanted, crumbling away like an old ruined castle.
[Image]
Despite its crumbly texture and poor appearance, the actual flavour of the cake was delicious. I used dried cranberries and sultanas in place of the raisins which added bright little dots of ruby colour throughout the dough and provided a lovely tangy bite against the sweet caramel topping. By mistake I also used salted butter instead of unsalted in the caramel topping, which meant every bite was a mix of sweet and salty, which worked brilliantly. I think this was one of the best bits about the cake.
[Image]
The cake itself had a dense textured crumb, but was very moist with a slightly grassy flavour due to my use of Teff flour. I enjoyed it and its scone-like texture which made a change to the usual soft and light cakes. I actually ended up devouring over half of it myself in only 2 days! It was just so easy to keep picking at it, especially as chunks kept falling off, just waiting to be picked up.
[Image]
So this months cake had mixed success. In terms of Monkey Bread it was a complete failure, but it did however produce a….mountainous giant scone thingy…that I enjoyed eating so all was not lost. I wouldn’t recommend this recipe as it stand though.
Click here to see what the other Cake Slice Bakers thought.
Hungarian Coffee Cake – a.k.a Monkey Bread
(Recipe from KeeCakeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
[Image]Topping
100g butter, melted and cooled
170g light brown sugar
Cake
100g butter, cold
360g plain flour (I used 200g white teff flour & 160g brown rice flour)
1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
(1 tsp xanthan gum – if GF)
255ml buttermilk
50g walnuts (I used pecans)
70g raisins (I used mix of cranberries & sultanas)
Method – Topping
Whisk together the melted butter and light brown sugar. Set aside.
Method – Cinnamon Dusting
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a nonstick 12cup/8inch Bundt pan and dust with flour.
Combine the caster sugar and cinnamon in a zipper top bag or small bowl and set aside.
Method – Cake
Cut the butter into 1/2cm dice. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chilled butter pieces and, with an electric mixer mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the buttermilk until the mixture just comes together, adding an extra tablespoon or two if the mixture is too dry.
Use a small ice cream scoop or spoon to scoop up balls of dough and transfer them to the zipper top bag. Shake the bag to coat the balls with the cinnamon sugar.
Place the coated balls of dough in the prepared pan, sprinkling the walnuts and raisins over them as you go. Pour the melted butter brown sugar mixture over the cake. Bake until the cake is firm and well risen and the caramel is melted, about 35-40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve immediately.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for 1 day.
Makes one 12 cup/8 inch Bundt cake
[Image]
"The Cake Slice August 2011: Hungarian Coffee Cake a.k.a Monkey Bread"
15 Comments -
Looking at the recipe, I agree - it reads more like the recipe for a giant scone. Most recipes I've seen use yeast-risen dough - maybe this was written as a quick alternative. I've often wanted to try Monkeybread, so I might try this as a non-gluten free recipe and see how it works out.
It sounds delicious with the mix of fruit and nuts that you used!
20 August 2011 at 06:53
Our cake tasted like freshly baked doughnuts. We loved it. I did wonder about not having any eggs or yeast but I didn't feel the cake suffered for not having them - brilliant with a coffee.
20 August 2011 at 10:50
Love your use of a mix of dried fruits. Will be making this today, so its nice to know what to expect.
20 August 2011 at 19:08
Awww, I'm really sorry this recipe didn't turn out for you :( I personally thought it was great! The cake was light and airy, and it kind of reminded me of doughtnut holes :D
21 August 2011 at 03:07
For me, it was very coffee cake like, rather than the typical yeasty Monkey bread that I've had before. However, it was light and not dense and scone like like you described. I'm wondering if it was the gluten free additions that resulted in the texture of your cake??? I'm sorry it wasn't what you were expecting though. Perhaps you canexperiment with other recipes and will have better luck.
21 August 2011 at 06:51
Hey Katie , ur cake aint that bad looking , i think its pretty and kudos to u for trying it with different flours.
Mine was or rather is , moist and soft and pull apart or sliced , jus as good , but then i used AP flour.
My only change was lots of vanilla :-))
Am so happy i baked along this recipe , super cool!
Hey u know Katie , i thought we finish baking all the cakes in one book and then move to another one , wouldn that have been so wonderful ?
I would have loved to bake all the cakes from Cake keeper and then have moved along to another book but ofcourse am ok with whatever u guys decide too!
21 August 2011 at 09:26
What an interesting cake, loving the idea behind it and it looks so tasty too!
21 August 2011 at 10:33
This is the only monkey bread I've seen without yeast in it, maybe that would make it different?
The ooey gooey bits looks fab though, yum!
21 August 2011 at 15:07
I'm with you on this recipe ... I thought it tasted like scones with (really) nice coating!
21 August 2011 at 17:15
"a mountainous giant scone thingy" can only be a thing of joy! I agree it doesn't look much like monkey bread (which has been on my "to bake" list forever) but it does look awesome in its own right!
22 August 2011 at 08:16
Hy mother has always made monkey bread cake! Which has somehow transformed it´s name into monkey ball cake in our home and it is always a huge hit!
so glad to see your recipe! Can´t wait to try it!
22 August 2011 at 13:02
Giant scone! I love the chopped walnuts and dried fruit!
Looking good!
23 August 2011 at 05:25
Don't worry, my first cake turned out like a biscuit/scone texture, good but not so much a "Cake keeper" cake. So this past weekend I was determined to improve it. I added 1/2 c. more buttermilk, and melted my topping on low heat, just enough to make into a syrup. It was awesome! It had more of a cake texture, and the caramel coated the cake wonderfuly! Now its a "Cake keeper"!
25 August 2011 at 07:13
This looks delicious!
28 August 2011 at 13:24
Hi !!
I really love your blog!
I follow you :D
... maybe if you want, you could visit my blog too ( I hope you like it ;) ) I´ll be waiting for you!
Kisses!
http://modacapitalblog.com
23 September 2011 at 00:17