Italian Cream Cake
My sister, Cindy, made this Italian Cream Cake for us and we all just fell in love with it! It is absolutely delicious. You may want to consider making it for someone’s birthday instead of the traditional birthday cake. I promise you, they will love it…as long as they’re not allergic to nuts.
Italian Cream Cake
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Icing
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons light whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch cake pans. Sift flour and baking soda together, set aside. With electric mixer, cream butter and shortening with sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. With mixer on medium, add flour and buttermilk slowly. Add vanilla, coconut and nuts, blend together thoroughly. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes. Test if done by touching the top of the cake with your finger. The cake is done if it bounces back up. Allow cake layers to cool.
For the frosting: With electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed until fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and blend in the sugar and vanilla. Beat well until the frosting is smooth.
When cake is completely cool, remove from each pan. Spread the frosting between the layers and on the sides and top of the cake. Press nuts up sides of cake.
