Italian Cream Cake
Three-layer Southern Italian cream cake with toasted coconut and pecans in the batter, frosted with cream cheese and raspberry preserves.
Ingredients
- 3 0.5 cup shredded coconut, divided
- 0.5 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cup sugar
- 5 whole eggs, separated
- 2 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 0.5 cup chopped pecans
- 16 oz cream cheese (2 packages), room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter for frosting
- 12 oz confectioners' sugar
- 8 oz jar seedless raspberry preserves
Instructions
- 1
Heat oven to 325°F. Spray 3 8-inch cake pans. Toast coconut on a cookie pan for about 6 minutes total, tossing once. Set aside.
- 2
Cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Alternate adding flour+baking soda with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, 1/2 cup coconut, and pecans. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
- 3
Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake 40-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Invert on cooling racks until cool.
- 4
Make frosting: whip cream cheese, butter, and vanilla; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar.
- 5
Frost between layers with frosting, spread raspberry preserves on the bottom of middle and top layers. Stack layers. Frost top and sides. Press remaining toasted coconut onto outside of cake.