I love when I can take something Western and meld it with something Eastern. I love American desserts but sometimes think they’re kinda heavy or too sweet for my taste. On the other hand, Asian desserts can be a bit too healthy when it comes to holidays and festive occasions. I think combining the best of both worlds truly makes for the tastiest creations. That’s why we made this fluffy monkey bread with jujube syrup. If you’re looking for something different, look no further!
Why this recipe
My sous chef Lilja and I wanted to make a fun dessert for the holidays. We decided to make a monkey bread that uses our milk bread as a base, to create an extra fluffy texture. The syrup is made with dried jujubes, a classic ingredient in Chinese desserts. This fluffy monkey bread has three layers of flavor and texture, making it even more fun to eat. The bottom layer is extra gooey because it soaks up all the syrup. Meanwhile, the top layer is crispy and fluffy. I love to brush extra syrup on it after it finishes baking, to add a light sweetness to it. But that middle layer is my absolute favorite. It gets a slight char on the side from touching the pan so it has an extra crispy texture along with the caramelized syrup. It’s heavenly! When you compare this to traditional monkey bread, which is more dense, this fluffy monkey bread is light, yet still so indulgent. I will say this…it’s highly addictive so the only downside is that you may eat more than your fair share, though it’s worth it. We gobbled ours up in just two days!
Cooking process
Make the jujube syrup
The syrup uses dried jujubes, brown sugar, and butter to make a puree that is rich, not too sweet, and very fragrant.
Make the monkey bread
As for the cooking process for this fluffy monkey bread, it will take some time, but with a stand mixer it’s really easy. It’s a very forgiving recipe and shaping it is fun, so if you have kids, try making it with them. They’ll love it! You can flip the bread to serve it the traditional way. But for this recipe, I found that it’s quite delicious to serve it bottom-side (crispy side) up. You can even reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of the syrup and brush it onto the crisped bread. It’s so delicious!
Shortcut
I know that not everyone has the time or desire to make this bread and that’s totally fine. You can use canned biscuit dough to make it more quickly. It will have a denser texture but the taste will be delicious regardless. This festive dish is something that would be perfect for the holidays, but I think you can come up with an excuse to make it any time because it’s so delicious! Want to learn more about Chinese Cooking? Sign up for my newsletter to receive the 5-Day Chinese Cooking Crash Course and recipe update! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Other delicious baking recipes
Pineapple Buns (Bolo Bao)Chinese Almond Cookies Easy Milk Bread RollsBaked BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)Soft Cinnamon Rolls with SesameSesame Checkerboard Cookies
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
