Caramel Apple Icebox Cake

No bake caramel apple icebox cake is a perfect way to transition to fall flavors without heating up the house. The vanilla cream cheese filling, Graham crackers and cinnamon brown sugar apples come together to make the perfect easy dessert.

Get a fabulous fall dessert on the table without turning on the oven! Layers of Graham crackers, creamy vanilla filling and apples quickly caramelized in a skillet are married into one beautiful sweet treat. This icebox cake is a fun and easy make ahead dessert.

Icebox cakes are nothing new, people have been layering whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookies together and letting them meld into a sliceable “cake” for decades. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be updated and made fresh and fun again.

This caramel apple icebox cake is basically a no bake cheesecake masquerading as a refrigerator cake. In fact, I almost made it as a cheesecake but decided layering whole Graham crackers would be both more fun and less work.

In my book that is what we call a double win. And winning is what we like to do so we took the shortcut and ran away with the culinary victory! 👑

Making The Cinnamon Caramel Apple Bits

You want to make the apple mixture first so that it has time to cool down a bit before you start layering. Prepping the apples is the most time consuming part of the whole recipe, but it is totally worth the effort.

Once the apples are cored, peeled and chopped it is time to turn them into heaven.  A little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon helps take them to that next level.

After they are softened and aromatic, thicken the sauce a bit and stir in some vanilla. It is going to be hard not to eat them out of the pan, but try to resist.

Now set those beautiful caramelized apples aside and let them come to room temperature. It’s time to start assembling your layers of apple yum yum.

If you are in a hurry and don’t have time, you can use a can of apple pie filling in a pinch. However, making this apple mixture is totally worth the little bit of extra time and effort.

Fun ways to switch up this apple icebox cake recipe

• Use gingersnaps instead of graham crackers.
• Use vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers.
• For a more spiced flavor throughout, beat a half teaspoon of cinnamon and dash of nutmeg into the cream cheese mixture.
• If you don’t have apples, use pears or peaches.
• Try making a creamy cherry icebox cake for something different.

More Great No Bake Fall Desserts

No bake pumpkin cheesecake is another fabulous way to get fall flavors on the table without using the oven. I piped cream cheese whipped cream rosettes on it which makes it look extra festive without a ton of effort.

Pumpkin patch dirt pudding cups are ready for a trip to the pumpkin patch. They are super easy to put together and there’s a cute free printable that makes them extra fun. They’d be great for classroom parties or pumpkin carving get togethers.  

No bake apple pie looks like another delicious fall dessert. I think we should all put it on our must try list! 

Or make your own caramel apples using homemade caramel apple wraps. You can make a stack of them and turn them into caramel apples throughout the season.

Have you ever made an icebox cake? What is your favorite kind?

5 from 4 ratings

Caramel Apple Icebox Cake

Author: Carlee

Servings: 9 Servings

This layered no bake treat is a perfect way to transition to fall flavors when you still don't want to turn on your oven. Fresh apples are cooked in brown sugar and cinnamon until they are caramelly and delicious. Then they are layered with a fluffy cream cheese mixture and cookies to make a perfectly creamy dessert.

Print

Pin

Rate

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Additional Time 2 hours hrs

Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Ingredients 

0.5x1x2x

Caramel Apples

• ▢ 3 Tablespoons butter
• ▢ 5 medium apples
• ▢ ⅓ cup water
• ▢ ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icebox Cake

• ▢ 8 ounces graham crackers
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 cups heavy whipping cream chilled
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions 

Caramel Apples

• Core, peel and dice apples into about ¼″ cubes.
  5 medium apples
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
  3 Tablespoons butter
• Add the apples, water, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Simmer for about 5 minutes until the apples begin to soften.
  ⅓ cup water, ⅓ cup light brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Make slurry of the cornstarch and a tablespoon or two of water. Pour into the warm apples and cook stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes. 
  2 teaspoons cornstarch
• Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. 
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. 

Assembly

• Place a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of an 8 or 9″ square dish.
  8 ounces graham crackers
• Beat cream cheese until it is creamy and lump free. Add the sugar and beat until well mixed.
  8 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup granulated sugar
• With the mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly drizzle in the cream. Continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  2 cups heavy whipping cream
• Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the graham crackers.  Spread about ⅓ of the apple mixture over the filling.
• Top with the remaining graham crackers, then the remaining cream cheese mixture. Finish with the remaining apples. 
• Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Keep any leftover icebox cake covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Email Me The Recipe

I’ll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!

Show Nutrition Information Hide Nutrition Information

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 243mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 37g

“Cooking With Carlee” is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did you try this recipe?

Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!