Choco-Pumpkin Caramel Parfaits & Cupcakes with the Delicious New Cool Whip Frosting

Celebrating Beautiful Fall Pumpkins

Well, I am in a fall kind of mood. We took a road trip to North Carolina last weekend to the Southern Bloggers Conference. So many crafty DIY bloggers gathered in one room inflamed my creative energy.  And when my already over-the-top creative energy is ignited…nothing is safe. I was in high gear as I left the conference. Ideas were spilling all over the place  { imagine of a lidless pop corn popper }…and then I found these colorful pumpkins…

A celebration of colors indeed. They made me smile and think fall baking. So when I heard about this new Cool Whip Frosting, #CoolWhipFrosting, all those yummy pumpkinny fall desserts sprang to mind. Inspired by the beautiful pumpkins, I decided to make choco-pumpkin cupcakes with a caramel drizzle. They are so delish…you can’t sit still and eat them…mostly because of this yummy new frosting. I didn’t stop there though, I created a beautiful fall parfait with the same ingredients…

Cool Whip is a name we all grew up with. Everybody knows how good Cool Whip is on pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Well, imagine all that creamy cool goodness plumped up to the consistency of icing. Thick, but not greasy like buttery icings, it literally melts in your mouth. We found vanilla and chocolate at our Walmart. There is also a cream cheese flavor. It is in the frozen toppings section next to the Cool Whip and frozen fruit. See my shopping trip.

Happy Accidents Make the Best Discoveries

While the cupcakes baked, HIMself fixed me my nightly Greek yogurt and frozen raspberries. He also brought me a taste of the new vanilla Cool Whip Frosting on my spoon. We both loved it. During the taste test, he got yogurt in my frosting…or I got frosting in his yogurt…and the rest is history. My yummy recipe was born…

What You Need

1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
1 15-oz. can 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 carton Vanilla Cool Whip Frosting
1 Cup plain Greek Yogurt
Caramel Sauce
Kraft Caramels for garnish

Choco-Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Drizzle

I made my oh-so-easy and famous spicy pumpkin cupcakes by mixing one 15-oz. can of 100% pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) with a box of spice cake mix. That’s it…two ingredients mixed together until all lumps disappear. Fill paper muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack until completely cool. Place in fridge for at least an hour.

When cool, poke holes in the cupcakes with a fork. Spread caramel sauce over cupcake and let it seep into the cake. Place in fridge to let the caramel firm while you prepare the icing. Enjoy!!!

Cool Whip-Greek Yogurt Frosting

The Cool Whip Frosting is awesome straight from the carton. It does not need to be mixed with anything, trust me. But my challenge was to create a new flavor combination. So I did! Mix equal amount of Cool Whip Frosting and plain Greek Yogurt. Place in fridge until ready to use. Spread cupcakes with frosting over the caramel sauce. Place back in fridge to firm. Keep cupcakes in fridge until ready to eat. Serve with drizzled caramel sauce and Halloween sprinkles, if desired.

The frosting is easy to spread and goes a long way. I was afraid 1 carton would not cover all the cupcakes, but it did…even though we ate some before the cupcakes were baked!!! {Shy smile.} One 10.6 ounce carton will frost: 1- 13×9-inch cake, 1- 8 or 9-inch 2-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

Cool Whip-Greek Yogurt Parfaits

I couldn’t stop there. I thought that this new frosting would work beautifully in parfaits. So I crumbled up some of the cupcakes and layered them with the chocolate frosting, the vanilla frosting/Greek yogurt mixture and caramel sauce to create this yummy dessert.

Now to the clean up!!!

Check out Cool Whip on Facebook. You will find loads of recipe ideas for the holidays or any time frosting is in order!!! Also check out the other creative recipes Social Fabric bloggers have made with Cool Whip Frosting on the Cool Whip Frosting Pinterest board. Even more recipes at Kraft Recipes.
 

Twitter Party Alert! Join the #CoolWhipFrosting Twitter Party Wednesday Oct. 24, 2012 at 1 PM EST to win prizes and learn more about the fabulous brand. RSVP Link

 

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Kraft Cool Whip. #CoolWhipFrosting #CBias #SocialFabric All photos and opinions are 100% my own.