Description
Italian Cream Cake is a moist layer cake made with buttermilk, shredded coconut, and pecans, frosted with cream cheese frosting. This southern-inspired dessert is rich in flavors and textures.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 3 Tablespoons rum extract (not pictured)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
Frosting:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract (not pictured)
- 1 teaspoon rum extract (not pictured)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- Pecans and coconut for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º and prepare two 8x2 inch cake pans*
- In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light
- Beat in eggs and vanilla
- Beat in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the second half of the flour mixture until fully combined
- Stir in pecans and coconut
- Divide batter evenly between the two cake pans
- Bake in center of preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
- Use a knife or spatula to loosen cake from sides of pan, and turn onto a cooling grid
- Let cool completely
- Beat icing ingredients together (except coconut and pecans) until smooth
- When cake is completely cool, trim the tops to level if needed
- Spread a small bit of icing on a cake plate, and place a cake, bottom side down on on the cake plate
- Spread about a cup of icing on top of cake, then center place cake on top of the first, top side down
- Spread over sides of cake, brining icing up above the top of the cake. You want it to stick up so you can spread it toward the center later
- Smooth sides of cake
- Use an icing spatula to spread icing from the side of the cake to the center of the top of the cake to create a smooth corner
- When icing is smoothed to your satisfaction, pipe decorations over the top (I used a Wilton 2D star tip on the cake shown), and sprinkle with chopped pecans and coconut.
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
