Paula Deen Gorilla Bread

Paula Deen gorilla bread turns refrigerated biscuits, cream cheese and cinnamon sugar into a gooey, caramel-soaked pull-apart bundt in 30 minutes. Try this easy pull-apart breakfast bread for a holiday table or brunch with friends, since it's a crowd-sized dessert that bakes in one bundt pan.

Press each biscuit flat and seal the dough all the way around its cube of cream cheese. Any gap lets the filling leak out into the pan, so you lose that creamy center in every bite.

Paula layers the filled biscuits with walnuts and a melted brown sugar butter, which bakes into a sticky caramel as the bread rises. Because the pan gets inverted onto a plate, the nuts that started on the bottom end up crowning the top.

Paula Deen Gorilla Bread

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Course: DessertCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Easy

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

330

kcal

Cream cheese tucked inside cinnamon-dusted biscuit dough bakes up soft and pull-apart under a sticky brown sugar glaze. Inverting the bundt pan puts the toasted walnuts on top in a glossy, caramelized crown.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  

• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
  

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
  

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
  

• 2 (12 oz) cans 10 count, refrigerated biscuits
  

• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
  

Directions

• Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Then spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray so the bread slides right out later.
• Make the sugars: Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Then melt 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup packed brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring well, and set it aside.
• Cube the cream cheese: Cut the 8 ounce package of cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. That gives you one cube for every biscuit.
• Fill the biscuits: Press each biscuit out with your fingers and sprinkle it with 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar. Then set a cube of cream cheese in the center and wrap the dough around it, sealing it well.
• Layer the pan: Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the walnuts into the bottom of the bundt pan and set half of the filled biscuits on top. Add some cinnamon sugar, pour over half of the butter mixture, and scatter on another 1/2 cup of nuts.
• Add the top layer: Layer the remaining biscuits over the nuts, sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar, and pour on the remaining butter mixture. Finish with the last 1/2 cup of walnuts.
• Bake and invert: Bake for 30 minutes, then let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and flip it over while the caramel is still loose.

Tools for this recipe

• Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt pan, Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 3-quart saucepan, John Boos maple cutting board, 18 x 12. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I make gorilla bread without walnuts?

Yes, pecans are the easy swap and taste great with the brown sugar. You can also skip the nuts if anyone has an allergy, though you'll lose a little of the crunch on top.

Why did my cream cheese leak out while baking?

That usually means the dough wasn't sealed all the way around the cube. Press each biscuit thin enough to wrap fully, then pinch the seam shut so the filling stays inside.

How do I store leftover gorilla bread?

Cover it and keep it at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate it since it has cream cheese in it. Warm slices briefly in the oven so the caramel loosens up again.

Can I use a different pan if I don't have a bundt pan?

A tube pan is the closest swap because it bakes the same way. A 9x13 baking dish works in a pinch, but you won't be able to invert it into that tall, pretty ring.

Why should I wait before inverting the bread?

Five minutes of cooling lets the caramel set up just enough to hold the biscuits together. Wait much longer and the sugar hardens and sticks to the pan.