No-Bake Caramel Cream Cake Recipe
No-Bake Caramel Cream Cake is a dreamy, layered dessert made with French vanilla pudding, fluffy whipped cream, spiced apple pie filling, graham crackers, and silky caramel sauce. It chills overnight into a sliceable treat that tastes like caramel apple pie in cake form.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Flexible spatula
- Whisk
- Citrus juicer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 9x13-inch baking dish
- Offset spatula
Ingredients
- 1 jar prepared caramel topping or 1 1/4 cups homemade caramel
- 2 boxes instant French vanilla pudding
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cups cold whole milk
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- 2 cans apple pie filling
- 1 box graham crackers
- 1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream
- 1 medium lemon
- Flaky salt optional
- Chopped toasted pecans optional
Instructions
- Whisk the instant French vanilla pudding with cold whole milk in a large bowl until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat cold heavy cream until medium peaks form, then gently fold it into the pudding until fully combined.
- Stir together the apple pie filling, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and kosher salt in another bowl.
- In a 9x13-inch dish, layer graham crackers to cover the bottom, spread half the pudding mixture on top, then half the apple filling.
- Repeat with the remaining pudding and apple mixture, finishing with a final layer of graham crackers.
- Pour caramel topping over the top and smooth it out.
- Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight, then garnish with flaky salt and chopped pecans if desired.
Notes
- Folding gently keeps the whipped cream airy, preventing the pudding layer from deflating.
- A sharp serrated knife makes slicing through soft layers cleaner and neater.
- Lemon juice balances sweetness and brightens the apple pie filling’s flavor.