Description
Silky caramel apple dessert cups merge classic autumn flavors with elegant individual servings. Sweet pastry shells cradle spiced apple filling and golden caramel, offering guests a delightful personal-sized treat perfect for seasonal celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups (960 ml / 32 fl oz) apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml / 12 fl oz) heavy cream
- 1 cup (240 ml / 8 fl oz) milk
- 2 cups (240 g / 8.5 oz) vanilla wafer crumbs
- ½ cup (100 g / 3.5 oz) light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml / 2.7 fl oz) salted caramel sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl oz) salted or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 package (3.4 oz / 96 g) instant vanilla pudding mix
- Additional caramel sauce for garnish
Instructions
- Apple Preparation: Simmer diced apples with brown sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan until tender and syrupy, then cool completely.
- Crust Formation: Blend crushed vanilla wafers with melted butter, pressing the mixture firmly into small cups to create a compact base.
- Pudding Base: Whisk vanilla pudding mix with milk until slightly thickened, then fold in salted caramel sauce and whipped heavy cream to develop a luxurious, airy mousse.
- Layering: Pipe the caramel cream mixture over the wafer crust, creating a smooth and even layer.
- Fruit Topping: Spoon the cooled cinnamon-apple filling generously over the caramel mousse, ensuring full coverage.
- Finishing Touch: Drizzle additional caramel sauce for extra decadence and visual appeal.
- Chilling: Refrigerate the dessert cups for at least 30 minutes to set the flavors and texture, allowing them to be enjoyed immediately or stored for 2-3 days.
Notes
- Chill for Perfect Texture: Refrigerate the dessert cups for at least 30 minutes to allow the layers to set and flavors to blend harmoniously.
- Wafer Crust Technique: Press the crumb mixture firmly and evenly to create a solid, compact base that won’t crumble when serving.
- Caramel Sauce Tip: Use high-quality salted caramel for a deeper, more complex flavor profile that elevates the entire dessert.
- Make-Ahead Magic: Prepare these dessert cups up to 2-3 days in advance, keeping them refrigerated for a stress-free entertaining option.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 210 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg