Caramel Apple Cake Trifle and Giveaway!

I don’t know about you, but I am swimming in leftovers.  The thing is, I can’t decide if it is a good or bad thing.  I have plenty of food to get us through the next few days.  But really, how much turkey can one person eat?  If only I could get sick of cookies the way I could get sick of turkey.  It just doesn’t seem to happen.

But even with half of a chocolate pecan pie left, a bowl of caramel sauce, dozens of cookies in my freezer, and a tight pants, I always am ready to bake something new.  After many Thanksgiving-related hours spent in the kitchen cooking, baking and cleaning, though, I welcome something easy.  Something where I don’t have to pull out my mixer, wait for butter to soften or open up a few cookbooks.  Something that only requires a few more minutes of active time on my feet.

That is where this layered beauty comes into play.  While I don’t always advocate box mixes and canned fruit, there really is a time and a place.  And when you come up with something that incorporates those shortcuts, is creative, and looks impressive, no one has to know that a box mix was involved.  Usually your friends will be too busy asking for seconds to even think about it.

For this trifle, I used one of Dunkan Hines new decadent cake mixes.  I chose the Apple Caramel flavor because, how could a cake that is gooey and moist be bad?  It can’t.  Even by itself the cake tastes pretty good, but layered with Comstock apple pie filling, cinnamon flavored cool whip, cheesecake pudding and gingersnap crumbs it is even better.

And better news for you, I have some cake mixes to give away!  Two readers will win coupons for four free Dunkan Hines products (details below).
Caramel Apple Cake Trifle
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1/2 of a prepared Dunkan Hines Apple Caramel Cake
1 15.75-ounce can Comstock apple pie filling
1 8-ounce container of cinnamon flavored cool whip (if you can’t find that, fold cinnamon into regular cool whip to taste)
1 prepared 1-ounce container cheesecake pudding mix
1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 8 cookies)

Directions:
Cut cake in to 1-inch cubes
Layer ingredients in a large trifle dish or bowl as follows: cake, pie filling, cool whip, cookie crumbs, pudding
Repeat layers again and top with extra cookie crumbs
Best served immediately; cover with saran wrap and store trifle in refrigerator up to 4 days

Giveaway Details:

The giveaway is open through Wednesday, November 30 at midnight est.  The giveaway is open to anyone and there are three ways to enter (please leave a separate comment for each entry):

1) Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment below, anything you want!

2) Follow Keep It Sweet on Twitter

3) Like Keep It Sweet on Facebook

Disclaimer:  I received the coupons for Dunkin Hines cake mix and Comstock pie filling as a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.  All of the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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