Vegan Strawberry Monkey Bread | Fragrant Vanilla Cake

I have always loved monkey bread!  My Grandma used to make it, and it was always one of my favorite treats, especially warm from the oven all gooey and caramelly.  Classic monkey bread is a pull apart bread with a sweet buttery caramel coating the pieces of bread and sometimes crunchy nuts (my Grandma always added pecans or walnuts) and it is so heavenly!  I love to make my own and recently I decided to make some with a different flavor profile, sweet strawberries!  A Vegan Strawberry Monkey Bread!

I used the same vanilla scented sweet yeast bread base that I use for my other monkey bread.  It is pretty much the same as my cinnamon roll dough and is easy to make, although it takes a little time to knead the dough, cut it apart and what not.  But the good news is you can make this dough the night before, up to the point where it is all in the pan and at its second rise, cover it and refrigerate overnight which makes it easier to bake and enjoy in the morning.  This is what I usually end up doing and it works beautifully! You just need to let it sit out for an hour or so before baking.

I included plenty of strawberry goodness in this bread, both in the form of frozen sliced berries (you can use fresh if you have those, I just used what I had on hand) and strawberry jam.  I wanted it to be packed with berries!  I rolled the dough balls in sugar and layered them with all of the berries and it was perfect!  It smelled so heavenly while baking!  Once it had finished baking and I removed it from the pan, I drizzled a strawberry glaze over the top!

This bread was so heavenly, soft and sweet scented with vanilla with gooey jammy strawberries throughout!  This is perfect for Spring (which is just around the corner), and the perfect weekend bake!  It is so good with a cup of tea for a mid morning snack!  If you are a strawberry lover, or just are looking to bake something sweet and delicious, definitely give this Vegan Strawberry Monkey Bread a try!

Vegan Strawberry Monkey Bread

Serves 12

Dough:

• 1/4 oz active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water ( 105-110F degrees)
• 1/2 cup warm coconut milk (I warmed it up on the stove)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tbsp filtered water
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or as needed

For coating dough and filling:

•  3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp coconut milk (or other plant based milk)
• 1 Tbsp strawberry jam

Instructions:

1. To make the dough, combine the yeast and the warm water plus a pinch of sugar and stir to dissolve. Let sit 5-10 minutes until it starts to foam.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla extract, salt and flax mixture and mix together to combine.
3. Add the yeast, spices and 2 cups of flour and mix to combine.
4. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and mix until you have a smooth dough (you may need to use your hands at the end to mix it in).
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and supple. If it is too sticky add a little more flour but you want to add as little as possible because if you add too much the dough gets tough.
6. Place in an oiled bowl, and cover. Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size.
7. When the dough is ready, put the sugar in a bowl.  Turn the dough out onto the counter or a board and roll into a 2 inch rope.  Cut into 8 pieces then cut those into 8 more pieces.
8. Roll each dough ball in the sugar and place into an oiled 10 inch bundt pan.  Repeat until half of the balls are all in the pan, drop half of the strawberry jam over them then spoon the strawberry jam over them. Drop the remaining dough balls into the pan and drop remaining jam and strawberries over them.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until the bread has doubled in size.
9. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350F degrees.
10. When the bread has risen for 45 minutes, place them in the preheated oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes until starting to brown and cooked through.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes.  Then put a plate over the bundt pan (open end) and invert onto the plate carefully.
12. Whisk together glaze ingredients and pour evenly over the monkey bread.
13. Serve warm.

These keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for up to 1 week.