Grandma Barb’s Italian Cream Cake
Watch me make this Italian Cream Cake from start to finish!!
You can ALWAYS find an Italian cream cake at my family holiday shindigs. I think everyone in my family has my grandma Barb’s highly requested Italian Cream cake recipe (and now so do you, welcome to the family!) so it really doesn’t matter who brings it. This recipe is fail-proof and always comes out tasting fabulous!
The cake itself is soft and moist with a super yummy vanilla-coconut-butter flavor. The frosting is a regular cream cheese frosting with coconut and pecans added to compliment the Italian cream cake. It’s delish and even if you don’t like coconut, I bet you’ll still love this cake!
My husband is such a coconut hater. Â He likes the taste of coconut but not the texture so I make sure to use finely shredded coconut and then process it to break up the flak, even more, when I’m making it for him.
Italian cream cake is such a lovely, elegant, and delicious cake. It’s so easy to make that there is really no reason to wait until a special occasion too. Make it today, just because.
Get the Recipe: Italian Cream Cake
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups white sugar
- 5 eggs, separated (room temperature)
- 3 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup real buttermilk, (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 cup finely shredded sweetened coconut flakes
- FROSTING
- 16 oz cream cheese, room tempt.
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 1/2 cups pecans pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together shortening, butter and sugar.
- Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl combine flour and baking soda.
- Alternate adding the buttermilk and flour into the sugar mixture. Starting and ending with the buttermilk. Be sure to mix well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Fold egg whites into batter.
- Stir in coconuts and pecans.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-27 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cakes sit in pans for 5 minutes before removing from pans and placing on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make the frosting by creaming together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar.
- Stir in coconut and pecans.
- Frost & decorate cooled cake layers as desired (see video to see how I frost and decorated)
Video
Notes
Store in the fridge. Remove and let come to room temperature before serving.
Sorry I posted a comment before and said I added 120gr butter but I meant to say I added 220 gr butter (1/2 cup butter is equivalent to 113 gr). The result was still a delicious cake but I would like to substitute and have it less buttery. Half the butter is fine but what can I substitute the shortening amount with? Thanks
Fantastic flavour. I’m from Australia and can’t find shortening and used 120gr of butter instead. It was a bit too buttery would like to know if I can used 110gr butter and 1/2 cup oil instead. Would this work or would coconut sink to bottom. Your red velvet cake is to die for! Thanks
If you can’t find shortening, I think it is called Trex in Australia. Happy baking 🙂
Will i be able to use this for the 8×2 inch tier on my wedding cake? I’m guessing i will need to mix this recipe twice.
I am usually in charge of the birthday cake at all of the birthday dinners in the family because I NEVER make it from a box. So I have mad many cakes from many recipes. This was the absolute best cake I have ever made! It can’t be beat. Thank you!
I generally don’t comment on any recipes, but this cake blew me and my friends off… Just amazing, super rich, a real treat to the mouth. Thanks for sharing 🙂 🙂
I tried this recipe today! I know xmas was just two days ago but I had already planed out my christmas menu and all kinds of sweets but I kept looking at your video and new I had to make this cake soon! It was just as you showed it moist and tasted great! Not a fan of coconut I decided to ground it more and put a little in the batter and none in the icing . I do have a flavoring I added in place of vanilla called Pralines&cream flavoring by lorAnn oils.com it tasted great in the icing and the cake and goes good with the pecans.