Gluten-Free French Toast Cake with Maplenut Cream Cheese Frosting...YUM!

       You can call me crazy for putting this recipe together if you'd like, but it's pretty awesome anyway!  One night, I was getting ready to bake but wasn’t really feeling any creative juices flowing.  Then suddenly I realized...I was seriously craving me some maple syrup-smothered French toast!  So I thought, "hey, why not create a dessert inspired by one of my favorite breakfast treats?"
       I hope you enjoy eating this as much as I enjoyed coming up with it!

 You'll need:

1 cup Kerrygold salted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp hazelnut extract

 

1 tbsp Maple Syrup

4 eggs

3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup Hazelnuts, chopped

Streusel

1/4 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 cup Maple Sugar

1/2 tbsp Cinnamon

2 tbsp Maple Syrup  

       Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour two round 9” cake pans.

        In a medium bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.  Add in the sugar and extracts then continue whipping until creamed.

       Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

       In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Then stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk.  

 

    Fold in the hazelnuts then Scoop the batter into prepared pans.  Set aside until you finish the streusel.

      In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.  slowly fold in the maple syrup a half tablespoon at a time until the streusel reaches the texture of wet sand (sounds appetizing, doesn't it?).  

       Sprinkle the streusel evenly across both cakes.  Then use a butter knife to gently fold the streusel into the cake with a swirling motion.

       bake for  25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center and the tops are a light golden brown.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

Maplenut Cream cheese Frosting!

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup palm shortening

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp maple Syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp hazelnut extract

       In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and palm shortening with an electric mixer.  Whip in two cups of powdered sugar.  Next, add in the maple syrup and the extracts, then whip in the final cup of powdered sugar.  Continue blending until smooth and creamy.

       Now just ice and assemble the cake layers, then enjoy the Breakfast-y goodness!