Italian Cream Cake

Italian Cream Cake is a classic! Three soft cake layers are loaded with pecans and coconut. Rich cream cheese frosting is the true hallmark of this cake.

This is my family’s recipe for Italian Cream Cake. Years ago my mom gave me a book of hand-written family recipes. It’s something I treasure, and it’s extremely useful, too! This recipe comes from those pages. You probably know by now that I love a good homestyle cake. This one is a classic, known and loved by many. I made it for our Father’s Day luncheon last Sunday because it’s my father-in-law’s favorite cake.

My mom included tips, tricks, and stories with each recipe in the book. Here is what was written alongside the cake entry.

Haha! Who else thinks $20 sounds like a steal? You can almost spend that on a bag of good pecans.

The batter comes together quickly, even though there’s the task of dividing the eggs and whipping the whites separately. It’s an extra step but so worth it. The cream cheese frosting in this recipe is probably my favorite of all time. It’s so easy, so smooth, and pipes well. It tastes great and performs – what more can you ask for?

Let’s just take a moment to look at that interior. The cake layers stay moist because the smooth cream cheese frosting seals all that moisture in.

The rolled wafer cookies on top were my addition. They’re optional, but they make a quick and easy final flourish – and they’re tasty, too!

Italian Cream Cake

Heather Baird

Italian Cream Cake's beginnings are murky, but it is said to originate from an Italian baker that moved to the southern US. This is our family recipe, passed down to me from my mom. It's a delicious classic cake that everyone should try at least once. (I'm certain you'll be hooked!)

Make sure the cake layers are completely cool before frosting them. Cream cheese frosting is soft and easily meltable.

4.86 from 21 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 10

Equipment

• 8 inch cake pans, 3

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Cake layers

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 5 eggs yolks and whites divided
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweetened flake coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Cream cheese frosting and décors

• 16 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 cups confectioners’ sugar 2 boxes, 1 lb. each
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup ground pecans
• 8 pecan halves
• 8 striped rolled wafer cookie I used Pirouettes

Instructions

 

Cake layers

• Preheat oven to 350F. Generously coat three 8-inch cake pans with flour-based baking spray (or grease and flour pans).
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar. Add egg yolks one at a time, beat well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Beat the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk; begin and end with the flour. Add vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
• In a separate bowl, beat together egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting

• Cream together the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar in two additions. Beat until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again until combined. Cover frosting with a damp towel to keep it from drying out while you work.
• Remove about 1 cup of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip. Set aside.

Assembly

• Place a cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Top with a thin layer of frosting; stack another layer and frost. Top with the third cake layer. Apply a thin crumb coat of frosting to the outside of the cake. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting. Smooth top and sides using a cake smoother or bench scraper. Immediately press the ground pecans onto the lower edges of the cake.
• Pipe eight large swirls of frosting on the top edge of the cake using the reserved piping bag of frosting. Immediately sprinkle swirls with leftover ground pecans. Place a pecan half between each swirl. Top each mound with a rolled wafer cookie.
• Refrigerate cake. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Keyword chopped pecans, cream cheese frosting, sweetened flake coconut

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!