Gluten-Free Orange Crunch Cake (dairy-free option)

Sabrina

Course Dessert, Snack

The zest from 2 ½ navel oranges grate them well and get as much of the orange skin grated off, but avoid the white part underneath
The fresh squeezed juice from 1 navel orange
3 cups (405 grams) Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour spooned and leveled, not scooped
1 tbsp plus ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 cup flavorless liquid oil or melted coconut oil
4 large eggs room temperature if using coconut oil
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 cup milk of choice room temperature if using coconut oil

4 ounces cream cheese or vegan cream cheese doesn't have to be room temperature
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) soft unsalted butter or vegan butter
½ tsp fine-grain salt
The grated zest from ½ navel orange
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional) I love Americolor gel food coloring because it is gluten and nut free (linked above recipe card)

Grease three 8 inch cake pans with oil or butter and line the bottoms of each with a circle of parchment paper. Grate the orange zest into a small bowl, juice the orange, pour the juice over the orange zest, and set aside for later.

Crush or blend several GF graham crackers (I left mine pretty chunky) and measure out 1 cup of the crumbs. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and almonds together until well mixed. Evenly distribute the mixture between only 2 of the cake pans and spread it out into a flat, even layer. Set the pans aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 C). In a large bowl, mix the GF flour, baking powder, and salt together.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and use a hand mixer), mix the sugar and oil together. Add all the eggs and mix on high for 3-4 minutes or until fluffy and lightened in color. Add roughly half of the dry mixture and mix until combined. Pour in the vanilla and orange juice+zest (get every last bit of zest with a spatula. The zest is the only thing that makes this cake orange flavor) and mix well. Add the rest of the dry mixture and mix until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Pour in the milk and give the batter one last good mix.
Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans, pouring it on top of all the layers. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (the crunch layers took a little longer than the non-crunch layer). Let the cake layers cool completely at room temperature.

Grate the orange zest directly into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and use a hand mixer). Add the cream cheese, butter, and salt and whip on high for 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar little by little and mix until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add the vanilla extract and food coloring (optional) and mix on high for about at least 3 minutes.

Carefully remove the completely cooled cake layers from their pans. If necessary, trim the domed tops off of the layers using a serrated knife. Place one crunch cake layer, cake-y side down, onto a plate and peel the parchment circle off of the crunch part. Carefully spread a layer of frosting on top. Place the second crunch cake layer on top, cake-y side down, and peel the parchment circle off. Spread a layer of frosting on top. Place the final, non-crunch, cake layer on top placing the domed/trimmed side down. Spread frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate however you wish. I transferred the remaining frosting to a piping bag, piped some little blobs on one side of the cake, and added some orange slices and sliced almonds on top. Slice, serve, and enjoy!