The Best Caramel Apple Trifle (Easy to Make Dessert)
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Easy Caramel Apple Trifle – Apple pie filling layered with spice cake, vanilla pudding, and caramel sauce makes for one fabulous (and fast) simple dessert!
Caramel Apple Trifle
Apples and caramel go hand in hand. I just love the taste of caramel apples, don’t you?
This trifle is so super easy to make – and so delicious. It consists of layers of apple pie filling plus caramel sauce, vanilla pudding, and spice cake.
Such a simple dessert with big flavors – and a pretty presentation too! Serve it in a pretty large glass bowl to show off all the gorgeous layers.
Why You’ll Love My Caramel Apple Trifle Recipe
- Perfect for the Season: This caramel apple trifle is the perfect fall dessert. It captures the essence of the season with its layers of apple pie filling, spice cake, and creamy vanilla pudding, topped with luscious caramel sauce.
- Simple to Make: With store-bought ingredients like spice cake mix, instant pudding, and apple pie filling, it’s easy peasy to put together.
- A Crowd-Pleaser: Whether you’re serving this at a family dinner or bringing it to a potluck, the caramel apple trifle is sure to impress your friends and family with its beautiful presentation and delicious taste.
Grab a large trifle bowl and show off beautiful layers of cake, apple filling, pudding mixture, and caramel sauce for the best fall trifle. It’s one of those fancy desserts that will make your holiday table look amazing!
Caramel Apple Trifle Ingredients
Making it is easy peasy. Here’s what you need to make this apple caramel trifle:
- Spice Cake Mix: Using a box of cake mix makes this recipe super easy to put together! Prepare it according to box directions and let it cool. Then break it into chunks.
- Pudding: Vanilla pudding prepared according to box directions
- Sauce: I love using salted caramel sauce! I enjoy making my own, but a store-bought jar of sauce works too.
- Cool Whip: You’ll need 1 family size container of Cool Whip. Alternatively you could also make your own homemade whipped cream instead.
- Apple Pie Filing: For this recipe, you’ll need 2 cans of apple pie filling.
How to Make Caramel Apple Trifle
- First thing you need to do is make up the spice cake mix according to package directions, bake it, and then let it cool completely. Once it’s all cooled, break it up into chunks for the trifle.
- Also, prepare a large container of vanilla pudding to package directions and let it set. The rest is layering.
- So, all you do is layer the cake, jarred caramel sauce, vanilla pudding, apple pie filling, and Cool Whip in a trifle dish – in that order. And then repeat it all over again.
Recipe Tips
- For a deeper flavor, add a little brown sugar and cinnamon to your apple pie filling.
- Always let your spice cake cool to room temperature before layering to prevent the cool whip from melting.
- To make sure your layers stay distinct, chill each layer for about 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator before adding the next one. This helps maintain the beautiful layers of your trifle.
- And you may wanna finish off the whole thing with Cool Whip and Salted Caramel Sauce – just because it looks pretty!
Homemade Variations
- Consider making a homemade caramel sauce. It’s really easy and you can use my Salted Caramel Sauce recipe.
- Replace the store-bought apple pie filling with homemade cinnamon apples. Sauté peeled and sliced tart apples, like Granny Smith, in a large skillet with butter, lemon juice, and cinnamon until tender. This adds a fresh, tart contrast to the sweet caramel.
For Those Who Love to Experiment
- Swap the spice cake mix for layers of pound cake or yellow cake for a different texture and flavor. Pound cake offers a denser base that pairs beautifully with the lightness of the whipped cream and the richness of the caramel.
- Add a bit of crunch by sprinkling Heath toffee bits or crushed Samoa cookies between layers.
- Turn it into a caramel apple cheesecake trifle by mixing in cream cheese to the vanilla pudding. Beat cream cheese until smooth, then fold into the prepared pudding. This creates a caramel cheesecake filling that’s rich and tastes amazing.
More Apple Recipes to Love
- Caramel Apple Tres Leches Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Apple Dumplings
- Apple Cream Pie with Cinnamon Roll Crust
Caramel Apple Trifle
Ingredients
- package spice cake mix prepared according to box directions & cooled - broken into chunks
- 1 family size box of vanilla pudding prepared according to box directions
- 1 jar caramel sauce I love using salted caramel sauce!
- 1 family size container Cool Whip
- 2 cans apple pie filling
Instructions
- Layer all the trifle ingredients in a bowl in this order - cake chunks, caramel sauce, vanilla pudding, apple pie filling, & cool whip. Repeat until trifle bowl is full. Top with cool whip & caramel sauce.
This looks and sounds like a dessert that would knock your socks off and all that dripping caramel…oh my!
Yes! Read my tips and substitutions in a few different posts. (I kept remembering thi gs! Now my oldest s oui n asked for that trifle he loved that I used to make! I’m bringing it to him Friday, with the adjustments mentioned in the other posts! Def. make it because it’s delicious!!!
This looks so delicious.
Pinning this! I love having big, entertaining dessert options that are so quick and easy to make! Thanks!
26 years ago a relative made this for our engagement party. I’ve moved so many times that I lost the recipe and haven’t made it in years. There are a few people in my family that absolutely go crazy for it, especially my oldest son. I’m making it for him at the end of the week and he I’ve been trying to come up with the ingredients. I thought I had it all, but just the morning I remembered the apple filling. Decided to look it up to see if I could find it, and realized that I also forgot the spice cake. I was thinking it was vanilla wafers. One other difference-everyone’s favorite part. It was made with Heath crumbled toffee pieces, not the liquid caramel. So the layering ended with Cool Whip on top sprinkled with the toffee pieces. I think it was originally called something like, “Harvest Apple Trifle”. One warning: This dessert does not keep well. 24 hours after making it, it deteriorates into a liquidy, mushy mesh, so eat up. Makes a lot and it’s delicious!!!
Looks really good and easy too. A great combination. Thanks for linking up to Tips and Tricks. We hope to see you this week. Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas
Awesome recipe! Trifles are one of my favorite desserts (especially for the holidays), and this version looks delicious. I especially like that it’s easy to prepare. Thanks for the idea! Pinned and tweeted. 🙂
Oh my! This looks incredible. Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
How far ahead can I make it?
Up to 48 hours.
I’ve been making this since an aunt made it 26 years ago for my engagement party! Everyone loved. There was one big difference that it I wouldn’t chance because so many people said it was their favorite part. I even use extra. Instead of the caramel, which is good I’m sure, I make it the way it was originally made for us-with Heath Heath toffee crumbled bits that you should be able to find in the baking aisle at the grocery store. The easiest way to make this recipe is to make the spice cake the day before, then just cover it in the pan. Make the pudding, cover it with plastic and set it in the frig. Put the Cool Wip in the frig. The day or night before to thaw. Put all the other ingredients on the counter with your trifle bowl. The next day, (which should be the day you want it to be served, just construct all of the layers, ending with Cool Whip, then sprinkle with toffee bis on top! It’s easy and quick!” (Eat within about a day and a half because it doesn’t keep well. Turns into liquid mush that isn’t pretty! It’s really good though, so shouldn’t be a problem!) ,😊
I made this for New Years day, found the link on pinterest.
It was good!
I think next time, I will use either the caramel apple pie filling, and a butterscotch pudding to make it more applel caramel flavor. Also thought about using fresh chopped up apples and stir them into the caramel topping. I was looking for more of a caramel apple taste. But it was delish, a hit at the new years day party.
I made this trifle a while ago. It was so easy and soooo delicious. I am making it again today for our family Easter dinner
Another tip I now remember in addition to substituting Heath toffee bits for the caramel, not only in layers , but to sprinkle on top of Cool Whip at the end…When I saw what a hit this dessert was, I questioned the aunt who made it about exactly how she did it at my engagement party 26 years ago. She said, I ‘ll give you a tip. She melted 1/2 stick of butter in a saucepan, added the apple pie filling, a little extra cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg, then just heated it up for a few minutes mixing it all together. It tasted richer and so delicious!!!
Lauren, why you trying to hijack Crystals recipe post? This is her recipe, not yours. Just saying. Mind your manners.