Italian Cream Cake

Before you start

Despite the name, Italian cream cake is a Southern American cake, and its connection to Italy is unclear. It is a tall, three-layer buttermilk cake folded with flaked coconut and toasted pecans, lightened with whipped egg whites, and frosted with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting with more pecans. It is rich, sweet and nutty, with a soft crumb.

The key technique is separating the eggs. The yolks go into the butter and sugar for richness, and the whites are whipped to stiff peaks and folded in at the end for lift. Fold gently but completely; streaks of white bake into chewy pockets. Toasting the pecans first gives far more flavor than raw nuts, and toasting a little extra for the frosting finishes the cake nicely.

Ingredients

• Cake250 g (2 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — softened
• 95 g (½ cup) vegetable shortening
• 400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs — separated, room temperature
• 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk — room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 80 g (1 cup) sweetened flaked coconut
• 115 g (1 cup) pecans — toasted and finely chopped
• Frosting340 g (12 oz) cream cheese — softened
• 170 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter — softened
• 600 g (5 cups) powdered sugar — sifted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60 g (½ cup) pecans — toasted and chopped, for decorating

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease the pans, line them with parchment and grease the paper. Toast all the pecans (175 g) on a sheet for 7 to 9 minutes until fragrant, then cool and chop.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Beat the butter, shortening and sugar on medium-high for 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla.
4. On low speed, add the flour in three parts alternating with the buttermilk in two, mixing just until smooth. Stir in the coconut and 115 g of the pecans.
5. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff, glossy peaks. Stir a quarter of them into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest gently until no white streaks remain.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until golden and the centers spring back when pressed.
7. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks and cool completely, about 1 hour.
8. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar gradually and the vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Stack the layers with frosting between them, cover the top and sides, and press the remaining pecans onto the sides or top. Chill 30 minutes before slicing.

Tips for success

• Separate the eggs while cold, since yolks break less easily, then let the whites come to room temperature for better volume.
• Weigh the batter into the pans for even layers that bake in the same time; each pan takes roughly 520 g.
• If the frosting is too soft to hold between layers, chill it for 15 to 20 minutes before stacking.

Substitutions

Shortening

Use all butter (210 g total). The cake tastes richer but is slightly less tender and a little lower.

Sweetened coconut

Unsweetened flaked coconut makes a less sweet cake and works well with the very sweet frosting.

Pecans

Toasted walnuts are a common and very good alternative.

Variations

Italian cream cupcakes

Fill 30 lined cups two-thirds full and bake for 18 to 22 minutes. Halve the frosting.

Troubleshooting

Layers are dense and short

The whites were underwhipped or knocked flat during folding. Whip to stiff peaks and fold gently with a large spatula.

Frosting slides off the sides

The layers were warm or the frosting was too soft. Cool the layers completely and chill the frosting briefly.

Coconut and nuts sank to the bottom

The batter was overmixed after the whites went in, thinning it. Fold just until combined, and chop the pecans finely.

Storage

Refrigerate the frosted cake, covered, for up to 5 days. Let slices sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Unfrosted layers freeze, wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Cream cheese frosting is perishable; keep the cake refrigerated and out of the refrigerator for no more than 2 hours. Do not taste raw batter. Contains wheat, egg, milk and tree nuts (pecans, coconut).