Very Orange Cake !!

Last weekend we were supposed to host some friends for dinner and cards. Being the planner I am, I made the dessert ahead of time. They ended up having to cancel due to illness so Bob and I were left with the cake all to ourselves, so sad ;-)

My inspiration were twofold, my sister has been sharing her incredible navel orange crop with me. They are so juicy with just the right balance of sweet and acid. I wanted to showcase them in a dessert.
My dinner guests are vegan, I needed a cake that did not contain eggs or butter.

When I looked up vegan orange cake, I was surprised by all the entries. Apparently that venerable old favorite Joy of Cooking has a very tasty orange cake that fit my parameters.

One of the recipes I looked up had you decorate it with candied orange peels.

I followed the orange peel recipe but I wasn't very pleased with them, most likely due to operator error. To be honest they didn't add anything to the cake itself. It's certainly sweet enough especially with the glaze.Instead I would add some zest or tiny peel curls to the glaze for show.
If you decide to make them, here is the recipe .

The cake is delightful, moist, easy and very adaptable.

Very Orange Cake

1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
 orange zest from one orange

Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest or tiny curls of peel

1) Preheat the oven 350 F. Grease and flour an 8 inch round cake pan, a 9 inch round or 8 inch square would also do. The recipe stressed the flouring part. You could also use a piece of parchment if you are concerned. I had one with the little "cake release bar" at the bottom.

2) Grate the orange, and make juice to one cup. I was lucky and already had  a large jar made up.

3) In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients including the zest.

4) in a smaller bowl combine the liquid ingredients.

5) Add the liquid ingredients into the dry, mix just to blend.

6) Pour into the greased and floured pan, bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Do the toothpick trick to test for doneness. In the 8 inch pan my cake took 35 minutes to bake. It will be a golden brown.

7) Cool for 10 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze.

8)  In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup powered sugar, 1 teaspoon zest or tiny curls of peel. Start with 1 teaspoon of juice and add more to get a thick paste.

9) Apply the glaze to cover the top of the cake.

10) I know it doesn't look as cool without the candies peel. I would have been more creative with the glaze if I didn't have the peel. Not that it matters, because it won't last that long !!