Lemon Monkey Bread

This is a long process, and you'll have to make the dough by hand (not my favorite) but it still turned out good, and it tastes like a ooey gooey lemon pie with cream cheese filling. You do need a BUNT pan, I tried a bread pan and it worked out ok but some of the dough pieces were a little doughy.

To make:

Dough:

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 - 2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon instant yeast
grated rind from 1 lemon

Coating

3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup soft cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Topping
1/3 cup lemon juice
6 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon butter

Method

To make the dough, add the milk and water to a saucepan and bring to a scald.

Pour the scalded liquid into a large bowl. Add in the sugar and butter. Stir till the butter melts and the temperature comes to a lukewarm. Take a lemon and finely grate the rind.

Add in the grated lemon rind, salt and beaten egg. Stir with a wire whisk to well blended. Add in half the flour and the instant yeast. Beat with a wooden spoon till smooth.

Start to add a little more flour a little at a time. Till the dough becomes to hard to mix in the bowl. Pour out onto a flat surface and begin to knead the dough for 10 minutes. continue to add more flour till the dough in no longer sticking to your hands. After kneading for 10 minutes add a little oil to a bowl ( about a tablespoon )

Place the kneaded dough into the bowl and turn over a few times to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest till double in bulk ( about 1 1/2 hours ). To make the filling combine the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice together. Use a wire whisk and beat till smooth; set aside.

After the dough has risen, pour out onto a flat surface and with your fingers press the dough into a 8 x 11 rectangle. Take a pizza cutter and cut into long slices ( 1/2 inch ); in both directions.

To coat the dough. Place the melted butter onto a large plate. Place the pieces of dough a little at a time into the butter and coat. In a separate plate add the sugar and place the butter coated pieces into the sugar and coat. Place those into a bowl.

Take some of the coated balls of dough and place into a well greased bundt pan. Add a little of the filling on top. Alternate between the dough and fill till all used up (ending with the dough ). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for another 1 1/2.

Mean time you can make the lemon topping. In a saucepan combine the lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, wait till the sugar dissolves completely.

In a separate bowl whisk an egg till well beaten. Now, slowly add the hot lemon mixture to the egg and beat continuously. So not to cook the egg. Place back into the saucepan and continue to cook, being sure to whisk till the mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat and add the butter. Pour out into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to cool.

Once the bread has risen bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes. As soon as it comes out of the oven. Allow to rest for 1 minutes. Then turn over onto a plate. If you wait to long the dough with stick to the bundt pan; allow to cool. Use a squeeze bottle or a piping bag to spread the lemon coating on top. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and enjoy.