Caramel Apple Parfaits
This is one of my favorite desserts to make when entertaining. I love giving each guest their special dessert. It is great for any occasion. While I consider this primarily a Fall or Winter dessert, it can be served cold and is therefore great for summer and spring too.
When you dig in with your spoon you get a little of each layer. The crunch of the pecans, the creaminess of the cheesecake layer and then the pound cake layer soaks up all the amazing apple pie flavor. OK, now I want to make these again! 🙂
Caramel Apple Parfaits
Delicious layers of pound cake, apple pie filling, cheesecake filling and caramel.
Servings: 6 8 oz. Parfaits
Equipment
- Parfait Cups
- Large Piping Bag
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz Pound Cake thawed, diced into ¼ inch cubes
Caramel Sauce
- 4 tbsp Salted Butter
- ½ Cup Half-and-Half
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar packed
- 1 tbsp Vanilla
Apple Pie Filling
- 4 medium Apples (I prefer honey crisp, but granny smith are good too) peeled and chopped into ¼ inch cubes
- 2 tbsp Butter
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp Ground Allspice
- ½ Cup Pecans chopped
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 oz. Cream Cheese softened
- ⅓ Cup Caramel Sauce see recipe above
- 8 oz Thawed Whipped Topping
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- Melt butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat, mix in brown sugar and half-and-half. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes stirring regularly. Sauce will thicken. Add the vanilla and allow to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Apple Pie Filling
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan. Add in apple, brown sugar, spices and cook for a few minutes on medium heat while stirring. You want the apple to soften but still have a little bite to them. Add in pecans and heat for another minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Cheesecake Filling
- Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, blend cream cheese until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in cooled caramel sauce. Be sure to scrap down the sides to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Fold in whipped topping. Place mixture in a piping bag. Feel free to either use a decorative tip or simply snip off the end of the bag.
Parfait Layering
- In an 8 oz. glass, place a single layer of the pound cake, followed by the apple pie filling, cheesecake filling, and caramel sauce. You will notice that the apple filling will produce a lot of juice, you will want to drizzle this over the pound cake so that it soaks up all the yumminess. You will repeat the layers until the glass is full, ending on the cheesecake filling and caramel sauce. I like to reserve a couple pieces of pecans for the tops.
Serving
- These can be served immediately or kept in the fridge and served the next day. I prefer to serve them at room temperature, but the hubby likes them cold. So either way works. If you make them ahead and prefer them at room temperature, pull them out of your fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
For a short-cut you can also buy the caramel sauce. While this is quicker, I prefer to take the time to make my own because, well, I just think it is better. 🙂