Italian Cream Cake with Toasted Coconut
Italian Cream Cake is an egg rich yellow cake that is filled with pecans and coconut. It is then topped and filled with a cream cheese - toasted pecans and sprinkled with toasted coconut.
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 745kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 5 eggs separated
- 1 stick butter softened
- 2 cups 400 grams or 14 ⅛ oz. sugar
- ½ cup shortening - I use the butter flavored Crisco
- 2 cups 250 grams or 8 ¾ oz. all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cups 139 ½ grams or 5 oz. loosely packed coconut flakes
- Icing
- 1 Large package cream cheese 8 oz. at room temperature
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1 box 1 lb. powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup toasted chopped pecans
- 1 cup toasted shredded coconut
- Prepare 3 - 8 inch cake pans by greasing and flouring the bottom and sides. I also cut round pieces of parchment paper to line the very bottom of each pan.
Instructions
- Combine soda and buttermilk and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and shortening until light and fluffy.
- Add egg yolks one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
- Add buttermilk and flour a little at a time.
- Stir in vanilla. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry.
- Gently fold the egg batter into the egg whites making sure everything is mixed.
- Add the coconut and nuts.
- Pour into the 3 prepared 8-inch cake pans.
- Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the pans cool on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, then cool completely on wire racks sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Icing
- With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese with the butter on high speed until fluffy.
- Reduce the speed and blend in the powdered sugar, vanilla and coconut extract.
- Beat well until it is smooth and light.
- Fold in the toasted pecans.
- Spread the frosting between the layers and on the sides and top of the cake.
- Sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
Notes
- I use a wooden skewer to anchor the three layers together. It makes frosting the cake easier and the layers don't shift. Put the skewer right through the middle of the cake and then snip off the top that sticks out. The frosting will conceal the skewer and it's easy to locate once you begin to slice the cake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 745kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 251mg | Potassium: 238mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 79g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2.2mg