Caramel apple dessert cups are an easy, delicious, and portable no bake treat. Vanilla wafer crust, salted caramel mousse, cinnamon apples and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce make these cups irresistible and perfect for apple season! No oven required!
Ingredients for Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
- Apples – Use a tart apple that is good for baking! I used Crispin for this recipe. Granny Smith apples, Golden Delicious apples, and Pink Lady apples are also great options! Peel and dice into small pieces!
- Brown sugar – Light brown sugar adds sweetness and a slight caramel flavor.
- Cinnamon – Cinnamon compliments apples perfectly and adds a bit of spice.
- Vanilla wafers – You will need 2 cups for finely crushed vanilla wafers. You could also use graham crackers, vanilla sandwich cookies, or biscoff cookies.
- Unsalted butter – Melted.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix – Be sure you are using instant pudding mix as opposed to cook and serve. You will want to go with a regular 3.4 ounce box.
- Milk – Use what you have and what you like!
- Salted caramel sauce – I have a simple and delicious recipe for homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that has amazing flavor. If you want to save a step, you can also use a store-bought caramel or salted caramel sauce.
- Heavy cream – Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream will work for this recipe.
Tools & Supplies for Making Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
How to Make Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
- In a saucepan, combine apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until the apples soften and the liquid thickens. Set aside to cool.
- Combine vanilla wafer crumbs and melted butter. Portion the crumbs into 28 2-ounce plastic cups using a small cookie scoop or spoon. Use one of the plastic cups to press the crumbs into the bottom of the cup.
- In a large bowl, whisk together instant vanilla pudding mix and mix. Chill for 5 minutes.
- Add salted caramel sauce to the vanilla pudding and mix on medium speed with an electric hand mixer to combine.
- Pour heavy cream into the pudding. Whip using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy with a mousse-like texture.
- Fill a piping bag with the caramel mousse and pipe into the cups until about 3/4 full.
- Portion the apple mixture into the cups on top of the caramel mousse.
- Drizzle additional salted caramel sauce on top of the apples.
- Seal the cups with a lid and chill. The cups can be served immediately or stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Make Your Own Salted Caramel Sauce
Salted Caramel Sauce is easy to make! There are only 5 ingredients and it takes less than 10 minutes! And no candy thermometer needed!
Check out my recipe blog post on how to make homemade salted caramel sauce to learn more about the ingredients and the process!
If you are not interested in making your own caramel sauce, you can use a store-bought caramel or salted caramel sauce.
Caramel Apple Dessert Cups Recipe Tips
Plastic cups
The plastic cups with lids can be found on Amazon or at your local party supply store. You can also use cupcake liners or make it in an 8×8 baking dish!
Yield
This recipe makes approximately 28 2-ounce cups. This is an estimation. You may have a few more or a few less depending on how much salted caramel mousse filling you pipe into the cups!
Apples
I recommend using a tart and crisp apple to make the cinnamon apples. For this recipe, I used Crispin apples. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Pink Lady apples are also great options! As apples range in size, it is difficult to say how many will make 4 cups worth. For this recipe, I used 2 very large apples.
Whip the filling for a few minutes
After adding the heavy cream to the caramel pudding mixture, use an electric hand mixer to whip until it is light and creamy. This may take a few minutes!
Storing and serving
These dessert cups can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days. I personally think they taste better after a day or two! A great way to serve these cups at a party is straight out of a cooler! When serving, do not leave the cups out for more than 30 minutes or so.
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Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
Equipment
- 28-2 oz. plastic cups with lids
- Electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Cinnamon Apples
- 4 cups apples peeled and chopped
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
- 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
- ¼ cup salted or unsalted butter melted
- 1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4 ounces
- 1 cup milk
- â…“ cup salted caramel sauce homemade or store bought
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- additional caramel sauce for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine peeled and chopped apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir and cook over medium heat until the apples are soft and the liquid thickens. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs and melted butter. Stir until fully incorporated.
- Portion vanilla wafer crumbs into 28 – 2 ounce plastic cups. I recommend using a small cookie scoop. Use the back of one of the plastic cups to press the crumbs down to create the crust.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine instant vanilla pudding mix and milk. Whisk to combine. Chill for 5 minutes.
- Add salted caramel sauce to the vanilla pudding mixture. Use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to mix the caramel into the pudding until smooth.
- Pour in heavy cream and whip the mixture with an electric hand mixer for 3-5 minutes until it becomes thick and smooth.
- Transfer the caramel mousse mixture to a large piping bag. Pipe the mousse into the plastic cups on top of the vanilla wafer crust.
- Using a spoon, portion the cinnamon apples over the caramel mousse. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce if desired.
- Seal the cups with a lid and chill. The cups can be served immediately or stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
My Apple/brown sugar/cinnamon mixture isn’t thickening. Is this going to make a difference? Everything else seems/smells perfect and I’m just waiting for that to finish cooling to add to the top.
Hi Kristian! Cooling the apple mixture down should help thicken it up a bit.
What apples are best to use for this recipe?
Hi Bridget! I love using pink lady apples, honey crisp apples or Granny Smith! Those are usually my go-to apples.
I’ve made these twice to rave reviews. I would like to make it in a cassarole dish and freeze. would that be possible? thanks for a great recipe
Hi Cathy! Thanks for trying the recipe! So glad you enjoyed! I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Please let me know if you try it out!
Does it have to be “instant”?
Hi Kathleen! To follow the recipe as written, yes, you would need to use instant pudding mix. You could try using a cooked pudding, but I haven’t tested that with these particular measurements.
So delicious! I just made these for a family gathering and they were a big hit.
Hi Sharon! So happy that you enjoyed the recipe!! Thanks for trying it out!
Everything about this is delicious. Love the concept of little dessert cups, perfect for a little sweet after a big meal.
Yes! They are the perfect little bite!
Very fun and cute but definitely time consuming and kind of meticulous 🙂 Love the flavors though!
Hi Cynthia! There are definitely several elements to this recipe! If you are looking for something a bit more simple, I have many other dessert cup recipes that are a bit quicker and easier to make!
Where did you get the individual serving plastic cups? And what size are they?
Hi there! I purchased the cups off Amazon! If you scroll to my “Recipe Tips” section, I have the exact ones I use linked. They are 2 ounce cups.
Would homemade pudding work
Hi Regina! Yes, you could absolutely use homemade pudding. The great thing about these dessert cups is that they are very customizable!
I’m in the middle of making recipe, my company have pushed out a week. Can I complete recipe and freeze it?
Hi Carolyn! Yes, you should be able to freeze the crust and filling portion. I would add the apple part when the event arrives.
could you use cheese cake pudding instead of vanilla?
Absolutely! That sounds delicious!
Could you freeze these in small tin foil ramekins?
I have not tried it with foil ramekins but I don’t see why not! They freeze pretty well in the plastic cups! 🙂