Orange Crunch Cake from the Bubble Room

Realtor by day, Chef by night's Note:

This is the recipe for the famous Orange Crunch Cake from the Bubble Room in Captiva Island, Florida. It has developed quite a cult following. We love it. I hope you do, too. The added bonus-it's pretty easy to put together.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

Crunch layer

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Cake

• 1 Pillsbury Plus yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil

Frosting

• 1 pillsbury ready to spread vanilla frosting
• 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions:

1. : Combine crunch layer ingredients. Press 1/2 into each bottom of 2 greased and floured 8" or 9" pans.
2. : In a large bowl, blend cake ingredients at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 mins at high speed. Pour into pans.
3. : Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes Cool 10 minutes Remove from pans and cool completely.
4. : In small bowl, mix frosting & topping. Fold in lemon & lime peels.
5. : Place one layer, crunch side up, on plate. Spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining layer, crunch side up. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting.

Reviews

[WhiteSnake]

Baked this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I really liked the bright citrus flavor and the texture the crunch layer gave the cake. I brought the orange flavor out even by adding homemade orange powder to the cake mix and to the topping. This will go into my Go To list for cakes. This is a winner and if there were more starts to give, I would give it to this cake.

[Lux3]

I was at the Bubble Room this spring with my boyfriend. He said it was the best cake and wanted it for his birthday. I was so glad to find this recipe floating around online. It may not be exact, but it was exceptional! I did, however, use the advice of a previous review and included a 1/4 tsp of orange extract in the cake and 1/8 tsp in frosting - good choice in my opinion!

[Sydney Mike]

This recipe definitely makes for A GREAT TASTING CAKE! I particularly appreciated all the citrus zest that was included & didn't feel the urge to increase it as I often do! The one change that I made was in the amounts of water & OJ ~ I used 1/4 cup of water & 3/4 cup of the juice! Great crunchy topping, too, in this great keeper recipe! [Tagged, made & reviewed in Please Review My Recipe tag]