pecan praline king cake monkey bread
Take a few shortcuts in celebrating a delicious Mardi Gras with this Pecan Praline King Cake Monkey Bread!
Happy Fat Tuesday! Better a little late than never right? If we’re being honest, I had to polish off a slice of this for breakfast before I sat down to share the recipe with you. No way could it just sit on its pretty cake pedestal taunting my growling stomach. Nope. I just had to eat a slice.
Y’all, this stuff is good. Like really good. And before all you King Cake traditionalists get in a tizzy, I’m calling it what it is. Pecan Praline King Cake Monkey Bread, or ooey gooey balls of Mardi Gras love for short. Maybe not shorter, but that’s about as accurate as the description gets.
There’s slightly less prep time for this delicious take on a King Cake so it’s great for last minute celebrations where you don’t have time to make your bread from scratch. I threw it together in an afternoon and have a few tips for saving time that I’ll share in the recipe.
If Mardi Gras has come and gone, you can always serve this simply as a Pecan Praline Monkey Bread and skip the glaze and sprinkles. It will be equally delicious. I know this because I may or may not have cleaned the praline bowl with a spoon.
But let’s be honest, why would you skip the sprinkles? Even when completely seasonally inappropriate, sprinkles make everything better.
What are you waiting for? Go bake this cake! Laissez les bons temps rouler!
- 1, 25-ounce package frozen dinner rolls, approximately 24 rolls
- 1 cup gently packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ cup chopped pecans, divided
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- yellow, green, purple sprinkles for decorating
- Spread frozen rolls out on a sheet of parchment paper or greased baking sheet and cover with a dish towel. Allow to thaw and rise for 2 hours.
- After two hours, cut each roll in half, yielding 48 one-inch balls of dough.
- Bring brown sugar, butter and cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, reduce heat, stir, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Pour half of the caramel into the bottom of a greased bundt pan and top with ¼ cup of chopped pecans.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl and place next to melted butter in an assembly line.
- Dip each ball of dough into butter, roll in cinnamon sugar, and arrange evenly in bundt pan.
- Once half of the balls of dough are in pan, cover with remaining half of the caramel and sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup chopped pecans.
- Dip remaining balls of dough into butter, roll in cinnamon sugar, and arrange to fill the bundt pan approximately ¾ full.
- Cover with a dish towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes until top is golden brown.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto serving platter.
- For best results wait until the top of the cake has cooled to glaze. To save time, throw the plated cake into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the caramel to set up.
- Mix powdered sugar and milk together in a small bowl until smooth. Spread an even layer over the top ring of the cake and immediately sprinkle with colored sprinkles.
- Store covered at room temp. Slice to serve, warming ever so slightly if desired.
RESOURCES
9-1/2-Inch Fluted Cake Pan
I made this today for a work potluck and everyone just RAVED over it. There was not a single crumb left. It was just absolutely delicious. I’ve been told that I must bring this again before next year. :)
This monkey bread look incredible. Could I have it for breakfast? I love that gooey pecan caramel sauce…yum!! Pinning! ;)