You may be familiar with pull apart bread known as monkey bread. Fig pull apart bread is a delectable sweet bread that is light, flaky, and loaded with fresh figgy flavor.
This recipe only takes about five minutes of effort to put together, so it’s perfect for a last-minute brunch gathering or even a quickie potluck dessert.
Fig Pull Apart Bread
Our tree produced a decent amount of figs this year, and for once, I managed to grab a few before the deer and crows had a chance to finish them off! The trick, at least at my house, is to pick all the ripe ones each day and vacuum seal them in a jar until you have enough fresh figs to make a small batch of preserves, about 300 grams of figs.
To get started, I recommend that you gather all of the necessary ingredients. In this case, we’re using one large can of Grands flakey honey-butter refrigerated canned biscuits. Open the can and separate the biscuits into two equal-sized layers and repeat until you have 16 layers in all.
I also tend to use real vanilla bean paste, rather than vanilla extract. If you choose to use extract, you may need to add up to a half teaspoon more to achieve the same level of flavor that you would get by using Heilala Vanilla.
How long with this last?
The flavor of this delectable fig pull apart bread is so fantastic; there are rarely any leftovers! It’s perfect for a summer breakfast or brunch and can be stored at room temperature for up to a day or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Individual servings can be reheated, but trust me – this bread will be gone before you know it!
Fig Pull Apart Bread Recipe
1 Large can of Grands flakey refrigerated biscuits (16 oz)
1 1/4 cups of Fig Preserves
1/3 cup lightly chopped pecans, optional
Spiced Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup half and half
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 9″x5″ loaf pan with parchment paper or spray it liberally with non-stick cooking spray.
- Gently divide each biscuit in half by its layers, creating 16 biscuit halves.
- Spoon about a tablespoon of the fig preserve filling onto each biscuit piece.
- Stack the biscuit piece on top of one another, forming fig-filled short stacks.
- Sprinkle with coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts), if using.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the fig pull apart bread from the oven and remove the foil, then bake the bread until it is golden brown (about 5-8 minutes). If the filling seeps out and touches the pan, it can burn; this is why you want to place the filling in the center of each biscuit piece.
- Remove from the oven.
- Let the loaf cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then gently grasp the sides of the parchment paper, lift the bread out and place it on a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
- While the bread is cooling, prepare the icing.
Spiced Cardamom Icing
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and ground cardamom, then add all of the half and half, and whisk.
- And the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and whisk again.
- Drizzle liberally over the semi-warm loaf of fig pull-apart bread.
Fig Pull Apart Bread Tips-n-Tricks
It makes it easier to keep the stacks all together and neat by propping the loaf pan up on one end, slightly leaning back, like so:
Also, if the filling is not completely cooled, it will cause the biscuit layers to spread excessively, as you can see at the bottom of the stack in the photo above. It will not affect the cooking time, but for best results and even cooking, the filling should be room temperature before layering the bread.
Fig Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 16 OZ Grands flakey refrigerated biscuits 16 oz
- 1 ¼ cups Fig Preserves
- ⅓ cup pecans, lightly chopped optional
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 9"x5" loaf pan with parchment paper or spray it liberally with non-stick cooking spray.
- Gently divide each biscuit in half by its layers, creating 16 biscuit halves.16 OZ Grands flakey refrigerated biscuits
- Spoon about a tablespoon of the fig preserve filling onto each biscuit piece.1 1/4 cups Fig Preserves
- Stack the biscuit piece on top of one another, forming fig-filled short stacks.
- Sprinkle with coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts), if using.1/3 cup pecans, lightly chopped
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the fig pull apart bread from the oven and remove the foil, then bake the bread until it is golden brown (about 5-8 minutes). If the filling seeps out and touches the pan, it can burn; this is why you want to place the filling in the center of each biscuit piece.
- Let the loaf cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then gently grasp the sides of the parchment paper, lift the bread out and place it on a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
- Icing Directions
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and ground cardamom, then add all of the half and half, and whisk.1 1/2 cups powdered sugar1 teaspoon vanilla1/4 cup half and half
- And the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and whisk again.1 teaspoon vanilla
- Drizzle liberally over the semi-warm loaf of fig pull-apart bread.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
I absolutely love fig pull apart bread! It’s such a unique and delicious treat. Not only does it have a sweet, slightly tart taste from the figs, but the texture of the bread is light and fluffy – unlike any other type of bread I’ve ever had. It’s also incredibly easy to make.
Made this to impress my in-laws and now I’m apparently the ‘bread person’ in the family. Worth it. 🥰 I added a little goat cheese between the layers and it was next level. Looks bakery-worthy but was super easy!