Treat yourself to this easy and delicious Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait. It's a recipe your whole family will love!
My local grocery store had a deal on apples that was too good to pass up, and I ending up bringing home three bags ... a lot for two people!
Thankfully, my husband loves fruit, so we're actually going through those bags quickly. Before the apples completely disappeared, I wanted to make something sweet. Since it's fall, I thought of caramel apples right away. I wanted to do something just a little different though.
After a little brainstorming and experimenting, I ended up creating a Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait that just may be my new favorite dessert.
Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait
This Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait is one amazing dessert! And yes, I may be biased, but my taste testers loved it, too!
I'm a salted caramel fanatic. (I even have a Pinterest board devoted to it.) It's just so good, and my Salted Caramel Apple Sauce is definitely the star of this dessert!
If you've never made homemade caramel sauce before, you'll be surprised how easy it is. All the ingredients—along with crispy, sweet apples (I used Macoun)—are combined and simmered until the apples are tender. Don't worry if the caramel seems thin after simmering. It will thicken as it cools.
I layered the caramel apple sauce with a rich, no bake cheesecake filling and topped it with candied pecans for a little crunch.
Everything works perfectly together, making this Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait a truly decadent and delicious dessert. Although I may have eaten it for breakfast, too ... shh!
Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait
Ingredients
For Pecan Layer:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup pecan halves
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
For Apple Layer:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 large apples, peeled and diced
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
For Cheesecake Layer:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare Pecan Layer:
- Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add pecans and stir to coat with butter; saute pecans for a couple minutes.
- Stir in brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until brown sugar has melted and pecans are coated (about 3 - 5 minutes).
- Remove pan from heat and place pecans on a sheet of aluminum foil in a single layer .
- Let pecans cool completely, then break apart any nuts that are stuck together. Set aside.
Prepare Apple Layer:
- Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat.
- Add apples to butter and saute for a couple minutes.
- Stir brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt into apples. Bring to boil and then immediately reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat. Refrigerate sauce until completely cool.
Prepare Cheesecake Layer:
- Combine heavy cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use whisk attachment and whip cream until stiff peaks form.
- Scrape whipped cream into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Add cream cheese and vanilla to the same bowl used to whip the cream (no need to clean). Use the paddle attachment to mix until completely smooth.
- Slowly fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the cream cheese.
- Fold remaining whipped cream into cream cheese in 2 batches.
Assemble Parfaits:
- Divide ½ of the cheesecake mixture between 4 small glasses or bowls.
- Top cheesecake with ½ of the apple sauce.
- Spread ½ of the pecans over the apples.
- Repeat layers one more time, ending with the pecans.
- Refrigerate parfaits until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you do not have a stand mixer, cheesecake mixture can be made using a handheld mixer (or mixed by hand).
- The salted caramel apple sauce would also be delicious served over ice cream!
What is your favorite fall dessert?
P.S. If you like this Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfait, I think you'll enjoy my Layered Pumpkin Mousse, too!
My mouth is watering right now just looking at your photos! These look so yummy! I love the flavor combinations. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yum! Looks delicious! And it's just the perfect size to help with those sweet cravings without over indulging. Thanks for linking up to Show Me Saturday! Hope to see you there again this week.
G'day! Looks yum and thanks for sharing at our #SayGdayParty
Please make sure to revisit if you haven't already to Say G'day to the hosts and another person at the party!
Cheers! Joanne @ What's On The List Pinned
Thank you so much for stopping by, Joanne, and for hosting:)
This looks so amazing! I am a terrible cook but the directions seem simple enough that I think I will try this! Thanks for this wonderful dessert option! Susan
Thanks, Susan! You can do it:) Just take it step by step, and it's pretty easy!
Oh my goodness, this looks incredible! I love homemade applesauce, and your addition of salted caramel is making me drool. This is definitely a recipe that I'm going to have to try and veganize! Thank you!
The salted caramel sauce is amazing with the apples:) I can't wait to see how your vegan version turns out, Linda!