Italian Cream Cake

Only a few times a year do I make a full blown cake (as opposed to cupcakes which are a bit more common in my kitchen). The driver of these occasions is almost always a birthday. The time, it was the birthday of our very own Derek. Historically, I have made three cakes for Derek:

1. German Chocolate (probably the most difficult)
2. Rum
3. Pineapple Upside Down

Next up - one to feed his love for coconut - Italian Cream Cake.

Now I hadn't really heard of this before I came across it. It differs from a standard Coconut Cake in that it typically uses more eggs, buttermilk, and has a cream cheese frosting. Since I'm a sucker for cream cheese frosting and don't really care for standard buttercream, I was excited to bake this into reality.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

Cake
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 eggs, room temperature, yolks and whites separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut

Icing
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

garnish: 1+ cup unsweetened coconut, toasted

1. Beat shortening and butter and sugar until creamy. Blend in egg yolks into mixture.

2. Add baking soda to buttermilk. Mix in buttermilk and flour, alternately into egg mixture.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff; add vanilla. Fold stiff egg whites into batter, and then fold in coconut.

4. Divide batter into 3 8 or 9” cake pans that are greased and floured. Bake at 350° for about 23-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. For Icing: Mix butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla. Divide frosting into two bowls, about 1/2 and 1/2 (enough for frosting the inside layers and then for frosting the top and sides of the cake). Add the chopped pecans to the frosting reserved for the filling layers.

6. Make sure cake layers are even and easily stackable. If one is slightly uneven, use a long bread knife to shave off part of the cake in order to make it even (you don't want a topsy cake).

7. Place one layer down on a serving platter. Spread half of the reserved pecan frosting evenly on the layer. Top with second layer and spread on the rest of the pecan frosting. Top with final layer and frost the top and sides with the reserved plain frosting.

8. Cover sides of cake with toasted coconut.

It was quite a production to keep this hidden from Derek before his birthday. I had made it on Sunday white he was still away in Tahoe as there is certainly no secrecy in baking a cake when you are both in the same apartment at the same time. I then had to hide this in our standard size refrigerator until Tuesday night when I would finally reveal it. Mind you, this is not a small cake and I was scared of any "refrigerator smell" seeping into the cake. To protect it, I placed a large all-clad pot over the cake and then wrapped it all up in saran wrap - and then hid that behind a big bag of leafy greens - I knew Derek would probably not be grabbing for that. Luckily - it all worked out and at 1 AM, when we finally got home from a night of dinner and a Lady Gaga concert, I pulled my creation out of the refrigerator, stuck a candle in the middle and gave the birthday boy his cake.

Though 1 AM isn't necessarily my ideal time for serving a dessert, it was a special occasion and I couldn't just wait until the next day - what's a birthday without a candle and cake?

Though the cake was a bit cold after having been sitting in the refrigerator for a few days, I was really pleased with the final product. I loved the toasted pecans and coconut, two details that were not included in the original recipe. I was a bit nervous because I used unsweetened coconut which, on its own, it's amazing. However, I'm glad I did. The cake was already sweet enough and when mixed in with the other ingredients, it added the perfect burst of coconut without adding more sweetness.

My only critique was that it was not quite as moist as I would have like it. It was far from dry - and I would be happy to be served it anywhere - but with a name like Italian Cream Cake, one would expect it to be incredibly moist. I would have liked to try it right after I had made it because I suspect the product would have been a bit different. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat Derek's birthday cake before he did :)