Caramel Apple Trifles

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.

If you follow me on Facebook then you know I put out a query for a preference on easy elegance or fancy desserts that require a little more time. No surprise that easy elegance won. That being the case, I figured what could be easier than a trifle. Easy to make, full of flavor and always an attention grabber, I decided to dress up my latest trifle with a Fall profile.

I know some people really make themselves go crazy with making a Thanksgiving meal, but I hate being crazy, I hate being rushed and I hate being stressed. Mindful of that, over the years I’ve learned to simplify my holiday dishes to things I can make in advance and to keeping my desserts simple on these days.

This Caramel Apple Trifle definitely fits that bill with its fuss-free preparation and easy-to-make components and assembly.

Now that the request for easy elegance is done, stay tuned for the fancy dessert I’ll be posting on Sunday.

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, I beg you DO NOT use the Hershey’s caramel sauce-it’s overly sweet. For a store brought shortcut try Marzetti’s Caramel Apple Dipping Sauce (usuallyfound next to the apples in the produce section of most stores). Yes-I did some taste testing, so I’m speaking from my taste buds to yours.
• The glasses I used for these trifles are from Bormioli Rocco, style Ypsilon and size 3 1/2 oz.

Caramel Apple Tifles

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

Instructions:

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.