Mini Caramel Apple Trifles

With the Fall Season upon us, I thought this amazing dessert would be great for the up coming holidays. I hope you give it a try.

A fall trifle that’s perfect for any Thanksgiving feast. Each layer comes together with minimal effort and fully assembled, this trifle makes an impressive presentation. Caught in between the layers you will find a light and ethereal caramel mousse that’s been layered with a burnt caramel sauce to accompany the crisp apple crumble. Adding another dimension to the apple crumble are chopped raw apples for a tart and fruity bite. Together all these components create a symphonic collaboration of textures and flavors.

A few notes:

• Trifles are highly adaptable, so if mousse is not your thing try pudding or even yogurt, although using the latter sometimes flips the name to parfait.
• To keep the crumble crisp, do not assemble trifle more than 2 hours in advance.
• I highly recommend making homemade caramel sauce. The flavors are much deeper especially if you take the caramel to the dark amber stage and it is comparatively less sweet tasting. But if you must shortcut it.  DO NOT use the Hershey’s caramel sauce-it’s overly sweet. For a store brought shortcut try Marzetti’s Caramel Apple Dipping Sauce (usually found next to the apples in the produce section of most stores).

CARAMEL APPLE TRIFLES

Makes approximately eight 3 1/2 oz servings

Ingredients

Caramel Mousse:

• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup plus caramel (recipe follows)

Caramel Sauce:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons of heavy cream
• ½ teaspoons of kosher salt
• Apple Crumble:
• ½ cup diced fresh apples
• ½  cup apple chips
• ½ cup crumbled granola

Caramel Mousse:

1. Place chilled heavy cream in a bowl and using a whisk or a  hand held mixer on medium speed or medium strength (for stand mixers use a low setting with the whisk attachment). Beat cream until soft peaks form and cream is light and fluffy. Gently fold in caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce:

1. Add sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Use a wet brush to remove any crystals that form on the side. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute. As the mixture darkens to a dark amber color, approximately 5-7 minutes, add the butter and cream to saucepan. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Add salt and stir to combine.

Apple Crumble:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Assembly:

1. Fill two pastry bags, one with the mousse and the other pastry bag with caramel.
2. Pipe a mousse layer onto bottom of glass.
3. Pipe a second layer with caramel on top of the mousse.
4. For the third layer, sprinkle the apple crumble mixture on top of the caramel layer.
5. Continue layering by repeating steps 2-4.

Sit back and enjoy while the compliments roll in.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!