Italian Cream Cake

5 from 8 votes

My Italian cream cake, with its moist crumb and fluffy texture, is loaded with pecans and coconut, then finished with a decadent cream cheese frosting to create a layer cake your whole family will love!

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian, Italian - American

Servings:

Calories: 1066kcal

Author: Chef Dennis Littley

Ingredients

Cake

2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoon unsalted butter softened and cut into 12 pieces (if you use salted butter, omit the salt)
1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature
2 large eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup pecans chopped

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter softened softened - (if you use salted butter, omit the salt)
16 oz cream cheese softened softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon table salt
8 cups powdered sugar

Assembly

½ cup pecans finely chopped
½ cup toasted coconut finely chopped

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour three 9” round cake pans. Place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of the pan and grease and flour it. Set aside until needed.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix to combine.
Add the butter, two pieces at a time to the flour mixture, mixing until completely combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition.
Repeat the process until all butter has been added. The mixture will have a sandy consistency.
Add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Set your mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula a few times during the process.
Add the coconut and pecans to the cake batter and mix gently by hand until completely combined.
Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans.
Place the cake pans on the center rack the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
Make sure to place all three cake pans on the same oven rack. If your oven does not heat evenly, rotate the pans halfway through the baking process.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack in their pans for 10-15 minutes.
After they have cooled run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Then invert each layer onto the wire rack to finish cooling.
The cakes must be completely cooled before icing.

Frosting

Add the softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and electric mixer).
Whip the mixture on low speed until creamy and well-combined.
Add vanilla extract and salt and whip to combine.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Mix until fully combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
The frosting should be smooth and creamy.

Assembly

Place one cake layer on a cake plate and spread a thick, even layer of frosting over the top. Repeat the process with the next two layers.
Smooth a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) evenly around the entire cake, then place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
The crumb coat catches the crumbs, holding them in place so the final layer of frosting is clean and smooth.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread a smooth, even layer of frosting over the entire cake.
Add the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe a decorative edge on top of the cake.
Mix the finely chopped pecans and toasted coconut and press the mixture halfway up the sides of the cake. Finish decorating by adding a sprinkle of the mixture on top of the cake.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving to help the cake fully set.
Serve the cake at room temperature but keep it refrigerated when not serving.

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