Easy Strawberry Crunch Cake

**Video Tutorial Is On the Blog Linked Above!**

To Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare 3 6” cake pans by spraying them with non-stick cooking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.

Cream the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until lighter in color and fluffy. Add the dairy free yogurt, vanilla and strawberry puree. Mix to combine.

Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on top of the wet mixture. With a fork, sift the dry ingredients together, then mix the wet with the dry until just combined. If using, add in the food coloring.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake on the center rack for 22-25 minutes. The tops should be golden brown and a toothpick should remove cleanly when inserted into the center of the cake.

After 1-2 minutes, remove the cakes from the pans by flipping them gently upside down. If the cakes don’t remove, gently run a knife around the outside of the pan to help loosen them. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting (see notes).

To Make the Filling:

In a medium sized bowl, scoop out only the solid part of the coconut milk. Try to get as little coconut water as possible into the bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the coconut until it’s slightly fluffy (about 1 minute). Add in the powdered sugar and whip the mixture for 1-2 more minutes until all the sugar is incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.

To thicken up the whip cream, mix in the cornstarch 1 tbsp at a time. Mix until any lumps are removed.

Chill covered in the fridge while you prep the other components.

To Make the Crunch Coating:

Place your freeze-dried strawberries into the food processor. Pulse until they are a coarse texture.

You'll want to remove the cream center from the Oreos. Then, add in the Golden Oreos, and pulse until the mixture is a medium-fine texture but not a powder. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

To Assemble the Cake:

Flip the first layer upside down (so the flat side is facing up). Spread an even layer of the whipped cream on top of the cake and then sprinkle a few tablespoons of the crunch coating on top.

Stack the next layer of cake on the whipped cream with the flat side facing up. Spread more whipped cream and crunch coating on this layer. Top it off with the 3rd cake layer with the flat side facing up.

Apply a crumb coat of frosting to the cake layers. I chose to leave the cake partially naked, but if you'd like to add more frosting feel free to apply more after the crumb coat. The more frosting you add, the better the shortcake crumbles will stick to the cake. Once frosted, sprinkle the crunch coating on the top (and the sides if you'd like) and decorate with fresh strawberries!