John Torode’s Monkey Bread | This Morning

John Torode’s Monkey Bread (This Morning)

Source

• Presented by John Torode on This Morning. He refers to the full recipe/quantities on the This Morning app/website.

Ingredients (as mentioned in subtitles)

• Flour (type not specified)
• Custard powder (used in the dough — contains cornflour, vanilla and some sugar)
• Instant yeast (a little; John stresses modern instant yeast is easy to use)
• Milk (warmed with butter on the stove)
• Butter — some melted for the dough and extra melted for rolling/coating
• Eggs — “a couple of eggs”
• Caster sugar + brown sugar (for the coating)
• Ground cinnamon (coating)
• Ground ginger (coating) — optional; can add any spices you like
• Jarred salted caramel sauce (to pour over / serve)
• Optional: spiced rum (to pour/ignite instead of Christmas pudding)

No-churn ice cream

• Frozen bananas
• Tub of coconut yogurt (blend most of the banana/yogurt mixture, then fold in remaining yogurt and a swirl of caramel)

Notes on quantities

• Exact ingredient amounts are not given in the subtitles; John refers viewers to the This Morning app/website for precise measures.
• Target yield: “around 36” small dough balls (he demonstrates dividing the dough into quarters then into eight pieces each).

Equipment & preparation

• Stand mixer (John says you “probably do need a mixer”)
• Saucepan to warm milk and butter
• Mixing bowls
• Pastry cutter or small cutter/portioner (to help shape/portion)
• Bundt/tube pan or bun tin with a hole in the middle (tin must have a hole so the dough cooks through)
• Oven preheated (see baking temperatures below)
• Freezer-safe tray or container for the ice cream

Method — dough and assembly

1. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, custard powder, yeast and other dry elements per the recipe).
2. Warm milk and butter together on the stove; combine with the eggs.
3. Mix the wet into the dry in the mixer on medium. The dough will look sticky at first — keep mixing; the cornflour/custard powder will absorb liquid and the dough will come together.
4. Once mixed, put the dough into a bowl and let it prove/rise (John says it rises in about an hour).
5. After rising, portion the dough into small balls — aim for roughly 36 small balls (divide into quarters then into small pieces and roll into balls).
6. Prepare the coating: melted butter in one bowl; in another bowl combine caster sugar + brown sugar + cinnamon + ginger (or other spices as desired).
7. For each dough ball: roll in melted butter, then roll in the sugar-spice mixture.
8. Place coated balls into the tube/bun tin, stacking them; fill the tin about three-quarters full. The balls can be placed loosely/stacked — no precise arrangement required.
9. Bake:
   • Start at 200°C for 20 minutes,
   • Then lower the oven to 180°C and bake for another 20 minutes.
10. After baking, pour jarred salted caramel sauce over the finished monkey bread (John has a co-presenter pour the caramel on camera).

No-churn ice cream (simple method)

1. Blend frozen bananas with most (but not all) of a tub of coconut yogurt until ice-cream-like.
2. Pour that mixture into a bowl, then stir in the remaining coconut yogurt.
3. Stir in a little jarred salted caramel to create swirls.
4. Freeze in a tray/container until set. Serve alongside the monkey bread.

Chef tips, technique notes and common points

• Custard powder in the dough: John learned this from a donut baker — custard powder (cornflour + vanilla + sugar) helps take up liquid and gives a better, donut-like dough texture.
• Don’t worry about yeast: use instant yeast and mix/prove as directed — John stresses it’s easy and people overcomplicate it.
• Dough can be sticky initially — keep mixing on medium; it will come together and prove.
• Use a tin with a hole in the middle (bundt/tube) so the dough cooks through.
• Make the balls small for a proper “tear-and-share” effect.
• Coating spices can be varied — cinnamon and ginger give a Christmassy flavour, but you can use whatever you like.
• Jarred salted caramel is a convenient shortcut for the sauce and for swirling into the ice cream.
• Serving idea: serve tear-and-share monkey bread warm with the coconut-banana no-churn ice cream, or pour spiced rum over and flame as an alternative to Christmas pudding.

Plating / serving

• Serve as a tear-and-share: guests pull off individual sugared balls.
• Recommended accompaniment: coconut-banana no-churn ice cream swirled with salted caramel.
• Alternative: pour spiced rum over and light as a flambé-style finale (as suggested by John).

Variations

• Spice mix: swap/add spices to the sugar coating (nutmeg, cardamom, etc.).
• Different sauces: use salted caramel, chocolate sauce or jam.
• Ice cream flavours: replace the coconut yogurt/frozen banana base with other frozen-fruit + yogurt combinations or different yogurts as desired.

Referenced sources

• Full recipe (exact measurements) and more details: This Morning app / This Morning website (as mentioned by John Torode).