Pecan Praline Caramel Trifle

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword pecan-praline-caramel-trifle, praline-pecan-trifle

Prep Time 25

Chill Time 4

Servings servings

Calories 330kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans toasted
1 recipe Pecan Praline Pound Cake cubed
2 3.4 oz boxes caramel instant pudding mix can substitute butterscotch pudding mix
4 cups half and half
1 8 oz block cream cheese softened
2 8 oz whipped topping thawed divided use
1 14 oz can dulce de leche or quality thick caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup bits-o-brickle toffee bits

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the chopped pecans in a single layer. Toast for 6-8 minutes then set aside to cool completely.
Bake, cool and cube the Pecan Praline Pound Cake.
In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer to whip together the instant pudding mixes and half and half on medium speed. Increase to medium- high and beat until thickened but still pourable.
To the bowl add the cream cheese. Beat until completely incorporated about 2-3 minutes. By hand fold in 1 (8-oz) whipped topping.
Assemble: Begin with 1/3 cubed cake, topped with 1/2 caramel pudding. Repeat cake and pudding ending with 3rd layer of cubed cake.
Topping: In a microwave safe bowl warm the dulce de leche for 20-30 seconds or just until pourable.
Drizzle 1/2 warm dulce de leche over the 3rd layer of cubed cake. Frost with the remaining 8 oz whipped topping.
Drizzle the whipped topping with the remaining dulce de leche and sprinkle with bits-o-brickle and chopped pecans. (Make sure the dulce de leche is cooled slightly)
Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Store chilled.

Notes

Use a Large Bowl - When it comes to choosing a trifle bowl my rule of thumb is to go bigger rather than smaller. If it doesn’t fill all the way to the top it’s still beautiful but if the bowl is too small, it could be a disaster with more ingredients than space.
Pound Cake Substitutions - If time is an issue, you can adapt this recipe using a butter pecan cake mix prepared per the package instructions. Use the amount of oil, water and eggs called for and bake it in a 13x9-inch pan.
Pudding Substitutions - Caramel pudding mix is sometimes hard to come by. You can easily adapt this trifle recipe using two boxes of instant butterscotch pudding mix or one butterscotch and one package of vanilla pudding. The amount of half and half called for would be the same.
Fresh Whipped Cream - You can use homemade whipped cream for this recipe. You’ll need 2 cups for the filling and 2 cups for the topping. How do you make homemade whipped cream? To make it, use a mixer on medium-high speed to whip one pint of heavy cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Gradually add 1/4-1/3 cup granulated sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form then proceed with the recipe.
Toast the Pecans in Advance for a Timesaver - It’s well worth the small amount of effort it takes to toast the pecans. How do you toast nuts? Spread them in a single layer on a sheet pan then pop them into a preheated 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes, then cool.
Dulce de Leche - Dulce de leche is typically easy to find on the baking aisle of the grocery store with sweetened condensed milk or in the Hispanic food section. You could also use a thick caramel ice cream topping.
Half and Half - You could use whole milk or heavy cream for the pudding.

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