Caramel Apple Cheesecake Trifles
4 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup water
12 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
¼ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ cup pretzels, finely crushed
½ cup pecans, finely crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup salted caramel sauce, room temperature
In a medium saucepan, combine the apples, brown sugar, 1 tablespoons butter, cinnamon and water. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and caramelized and most of the water has evaporated but it’s still syrupy. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until completely cooled.
In a bowl, whip the cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, toss the crushed pretzels and pecans with the salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter (melted).
Set out 6 glasses. Spoon half of the pretzel crumbs into the bottom of each glass and press down gently. Top the crumbs with half of the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture (I used a piping bag to get a clean, even layer). Top the cream with half the caramelized apples. Top the apples with half the salted caramel. Repeat all the layers, using up the rest of the ingredients.
Refrigerate until ready to serve, but set out at room temperature for 1 hour before hand, so the caramel is not too firm.
Cook's Note: All the separate elements can be made up to two days in advance, but the trifles shouldn't be assembled until the day you plan to eat them, since the pretzel layer will get soggy after a day after soaking up the moisture from the other layers.
Yields 6 servings.
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen