These sticky and gooey small batch sticky toffee monkey breads are the perfect combination of sticky toffee pudding meets monkey bread with a gooey date and cinnamon sugar coating and pools of toffee sauce. And no one will believe they’re entirely dairy free and vegan!

individual sticky toffee monkey bread with ice cream

Tell my about this small batch monkey bread:

Pull-apart monkey bread is one of the best holiday treats, and but sometimes it yield a lot, and you don’t necessarily want that much.

Don’t worry, I still love and stand by my ridiculously gooey vegan monkey pull apart bread (that gives Pillsbury a run for its money).

But what if we were to make a small batch version like my small batch cinnamon rolls? And put an even more delicious spin on it, combining it with my sticky toffee pudding recipe?

Match made in heaven.

small batch monkey bread outside of ramekin

These individual small batch money breads are rolled in a sticky date butter puree with cinnamon sugar and drenched in a gooey homemade toffee sauce. They bake to perfection for the perfect individual portion-size monkey bread that you can hoard all to yourself 😉

How is it vegan?

I’m so glad you asked 🙂 So normal monkey bread and sticky toffee pudding would contain ingredients like heavy cream, butter, eggs, and dairy milk.

The beauty of this recipe is that we’re using the proper ratios of these dairy free and vegan counterparts to produce the exact same results in terms of flavor, texture, and look. It just so happens to be vegan!

For milk and heavy cream: We’re using dairy free milk (like soy milk or almond milk) and vegan heavy cream (usually a combination of coconut oil and a dairy free milk- I like Silk the best!).

For butter: We’re using vegan butter. Miyoko’s is great here!

For eggs: This is my favorite vegan egg substitute for breads, cakes, and brownies- dairy free yogurt.

It’s truly amazing what you can do with the right vegan swaps and the perfected ratios to create any treat that you loved from childhood- entirely vegan. That’s always my goal!

pulled apart sticky toffee pudding

How to assemble sticky toffee monkey bread:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

  1. First: We’ll make the toffee sauce.
  2. While the toffee sauce is cooking: Make the dough and date puree.
  3. Assemble the monkey breads: We’ll do 3-4 dough balls per ramekin.
  4. Proof overnight: They’ll need 8-10 hours in the fridge.
  5. Bake and serve! Top with more toffee sauce and toasted pecans!

What if I’m nut free?

So easy!! My nut-free bakers, simply omit the toasted pecans, and make sure you’re using all nut-free dairy free products.

For nut free vegan butter, I like Plant Crock.

For nut free dairy free milk, soy milk is great.

For nut free dairy free yogurt, coconut milk or soy milk yogurt work wonderfully!

monkey bread in ramekin

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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monkey bread in ramekin

Small Batch Sticky Toffee Monkey Bread- Vegan and Dairy Free!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Proofing time: 8 hours (overnight)
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 9 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

These sticky and gooey small batch sticky toffee monkey breads are the perfect combination of sticky toffee pudding meets monkey bread with a gooey date and cinnamon sugar coating and pools of toffee sauce. And no one will believe they’re entirely dairy free and vegan!


Ingredients

Scale

Toffee sauce:

  • 1 cup (240 mL) vegan heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan butter
  • 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup

Monkey bread dough:

  • 2 cups (250 g) + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided (plus more for flouring surface)
  • 1/2 packet (4 g) activated yeast
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar divided
  • 2/3 cup (135 mL) dairy-free milk, unsweetened, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp salted vegan butter, melted and room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp (43 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Date paste:

  • 3 ounces dates (about 5 medium dates)
  • 1 cup boiling hot water
  • 1/3 cup vegan butter

Cinnamon sugar coating:

  • 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional:

  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Instructions

  1. Please read through all instructions before beginning. The instructions are for the overnight option, but you can make this all in one day.
  2. Prep: Grease a large clean bowl with olive oil for the dough proofing. Gather all ingredients and measure them out. 
  3. Make the toffee sauce: Measure out all ingredients for the toffee sauce. In a medium sauce pan, add the coconut milk, vegan butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Turn the heat on to medium, and continue to stir the mixture until the butter has melted, about 3 minutes. Continue stirring with a silicone spatula or a whisk until the mixture starts to bubble. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cooke the toffee mixture for 40 minutes, or until thick. While the toffee sauce is cooking, we’ll make the dough and date puree. However please read the next part first: You should continue to stir the toffee every few minutes as it’s cooking. The toffee sauce should be amber in color and super thick. Remove from heat, and pour into a bowl. Set aside to cool.
  4. While the toffee sauce is cooking: Make the dough and date puree:
    1. For the dough: Bloom the yeast first. Add the heated dairy free milk and 1 tbsp of light brown sugar to a large bowl or stand mixer bowl. Stir and add in the yeast. Stir again and cover the bowl. Place the bowl in a warm area to activate for 10 minutes. The yeast should start to bubble, foam, and smell of yeast. If it hasn’t, then you’ll need to start over. Then add in the flour, remaining light brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, sea salt and vanilla extract. Use a dough hook if using a stand mixer or a wooden spoon if not to knead the dough (on medium speed) until it reaches a shaggy consistency. Then add in the vegan butter, and knead again on medium high speed until a smooth, tacky (and slightly sticky) dough ball forms. Place the dough ball into the greased proofing bowl, cover, and place the bowl into a warm area (ideally 95F) to proof until doubled in size. 
    2. While the dough is proofing: Make the date puree. Add the boiling water to a bowl of the dates, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then pour out all but 2 tbsp of water, and add in the vegan butter from the dates section. Use an immersion blender (if not, then a blender or a small food processor) to blend the dates and butter together until you reach a puree. Set aside. By this time the toffee sauce should be done cooking. Make sure to set it aside to cool.
  5. Prep for assembling the monkey bread: Grease 4 medium baking ramekins and set aside. Whisk together the cinnamon sugar ingredients. Then in a clean area for shaping the dough, place the date puree, cinnamon sugar, ramekins, and toffee sauce in that order. 
  6. Shape and assemble the mini monkey breads: Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough. Use a bench scraper or large knife to divide the dough in half then into quarters. Then divide the quarters even more: you’ll want to make about 12-15 dough balls from the dough (making 3-4 dough balls per ramekin). Divide the quarters into at least 3 dough balls each (about 1″-1.5″ in diameter), but you don’t need them to be even. Take one dough ball and dip it into the date puree, then coat it into the cinnamon sugar. Place the coated cinnamon sugar dough ball into the ramekin and repeat for the remaining dough balls, placing 3-4 dough balls per ramekin. Top with 1-2 tbsp of toffee sauce.
  7. Proof overnight: Cover each ramekin loosely in plastic wrap, and immediately place into the fridge to proof overnight (8-10 hours). Cover the remaining toffee sauce for topping the next morning.
  8. Bake: The next morning, preheat the oven to 350F. Place the ramekins onto a baking sheet to prevent spillage into the oven (this is imperative!). Bake the monkey breads for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven.
  9. Serve and enjoy!  Top with additional toffee sauce, dairy free whipped cream, or serve as dessert with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream and toasted pecans. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

Please read blog post for all tips and tricks!