Gâteau à  l’orange. Orange Cake

1 cup Crisco
1.5 cups granulated sugar
zest from 1 orange
4 large eggs
¼ cup undiluted, frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ c. almond milk
2.5 c. flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt

-Orange marmalade (optional)
-Candied Orange Slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.

Cream together the Crisco and the sugar until it's fluffy. Add the orange zest.
Add the eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and beat until the eggs are incorporated.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate container. Add the flour mixture and the almond milk, beating until just combined.

Divide the batter equally between the cake pans.

Bake just until a cake tester comes out clean -- about 25-30 minutes.
Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans.
Let cool thoroughly on a rack before icing and decorating.

 If you wish to accentuate the orange taste, spread some orange marmalade between layers before adding the icing.

Orange Butter Cream

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (or dairy-free margarine)
3-4 cups of powdered sugar, preferably sifted
zest from 1 orange
3 T orange juice concentrate
2 T fresh lemon juice

 Beat the butter until creamy, and slowly add the sugar until the preferred consistency.

Beat in the orange juice and zest and the lemon juice. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more powdered sugar to increase thickness.

Candied Orange Slices

2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
10 orange slices

 In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil, add orange slices and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove orange slices with tongs. Let cool completely before decorating the cake.