Italian Cream Cake Recipe
All good bakers, let’s have a moment of silence for the Italian cream cake’s awesomeness. All new bakers, join in too because you’ll be a pro once you get this baby on your table and enjoy the cheers (and empty plates) it brings.
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This cake is a wow-er. A wow-zer. A “what in the world did you do there?” kind of thing. And you’ll see why it should only be made for special occasions when you get to the ingredients.
It would kill you if you ate it more than that.
All I can do is recommend that you just close your eyes and eat it and don’t think about the calories. Why ruin such a good thing?
I know this isn’t truly the easiest recipe I’ve ever posted. But I hope you’ll stay with me on it. Every once in awhile we have those times when we need something amazing. And this is just the thing.
If you’re new to baking, I believe you can do this. See below for some links to helpful videos for how to work with egg whites if you’ve never done that. And of course, if you have ANY questions at all, I’m only an email or a comment away.
Now warning: this cake has coconut and pecans. If you don’t like those, don’t make this because it won’t be the same cake. You could, possibly, sub the pecans for walnuts I guess…
But if you make it according to the instructions, sit back and enjoy. This cake is rich, but not overly sweet. It’s dense, but it’s moist at the same time.
A couple of tips to keep in mind about your Italian cream cake:
Remember to separate the eggs, then whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.(Check this helpful little snippet if you’re not sure how. Or take a look at my ultra helpful post on everything you need to know to bake cakes like an old Southern woman.
FOLD in your egg whites to keep as much air in the batter as possible. If you don’t know how to fold, you can watch this video–nothing like a random YouTube guy to get your lesson from. Maybe one of these days you’ll get a lesson from me.
This recipe takes a few most of the bowls in your kitchen. Sorry about that. And the calories? Well, this just isn’t something you should eat when you’re counting. I just wanted to warn you.
A note on the frosting: If you want a thick frosting, make a double batch. I find a thin skim is plenty on this ultra-rich cake, so plan accordingly if you want more. If your frosting is thick, feel free to thin it slightly with one teaspoon at a time of milk if it’s hard to spread.
Italian Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 cups self rising flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, divided
- 6 egg whites beaten to stiff peaks
For the frosting
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening until smooth. Add the sugar and beat well.
- Add the egg yolks and mix well.
- Sift the flour and add into the sugar and butter mixture one-third at a time, alternating with the milk.
- Stir in the vanilla, 1 cup of coconut and the pecans.
- Fold in the egg whites carefully until no pockets remain.
- Divide evenly between the three prepared pans.
- Bake 25 minutes and turn out to a wire rack to cool completely
- While the cakes bake, sprinkle one cup of coconut on a baking sheet and toast it in the oven alongside your cakes until brown and nutty, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir it every couple of minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Then set aside to cool
For the frosting:
- Cream the butter and cream cheese until well mixed. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Spread between layers of cake and on top and sides. Use your hands to press the toasted coconut all around the sides. Sprinkle pecans over the top.
One of the best cakes I’ve ever made. Enjoyed for Easter during Corona Quarantine! The good news it turned out super moist and super tasty. I did double the icing! The bad news is we have a lot of cake to eat and with nothing else to do it is hard to resist! Thanks again for sharing your great recipe. Stay safe and healthy.
I’m so glad to hear that Susan! It is a lot of cake to have on hand that’s for sure. You could freeze it! –Rachel
I’m a very experienced cook. Your ingredients are right on. Your instructions are terrible to say the best! Eggs should be first on the list. Directions should include separating and immediately whipping the egg whites and set aside. The order is all out of wack. The ingredients for the cake should only include 1 cup of coconut. The second cup should be listed separately with the 1/2 cup chopped pecans. I put all of the coconut (2 cups) in the cake. Fortunately it did not affect the leavening of the cake. Personally I think the quantity of vanilla is wrong, but that’s a matter of personal taste. Please rewrite your recipe.
Hey Mary…you know, I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to even answer this for a couple of reasons but I decided to give it a go. First, telling someone to rewrite their recipe is like walking in to my living room, sitting down on my couch and demanding I rearrange the furniture because you don’t like the flow. I realize that right now people are on edge and I’m really seeing that as more and more people come to this site to use me as their personal punching bag and emotional outlet with food as the cover for it all. I’m doing my best to be patient.
Now that said, I wrote this recipe 7 years ago and it probably could use some clarification even though no one has ever complained or had a problem until now. I wrote it the way the 75 year old cook who made it for me wrote it down and although your argument for listing the eggs first is fine, in the ingredient list it clearly states that the egg whites should be beaten to stiff peaks prior to starting the recipe. And proper form for a recipe is to list the ingredients in the order they are used in the recipe which I have done but we could debate this for a while I’m sure.
And your 1 cup of coconut for the cake was outlined in the steps of the recipe–I’m sure you read the entire recipe through at least twice before starting as all experienced cooks are taught to do and you can take the vanilla amount up with whoever out there decided that was the proper amount.
I don’t think the furniture will be moved in this case, though I will fluff the pillows and dust the coffee table. –Rachel
Wow, Mary why don’t you write your own recipe? I just followed it to a t and it turned out perfectly and it’s delicious. Although I doubt anyone would want to read your snot nosed opinions peppered in with your “very experienced” recipes. Rachel, this is my first time making an Italian Cream cake and this recipe is going to be my go-to for this cake. Thank you so much.
Meg I’m going to hire you to be one of my new PR people so you can set all this rudeness straight. Hahahaha! I appreciate your success with this recipe and for standing up for a little bit of kindness. –Rachel
This is my new favorite cake ?
I baked it 4 times in 2019 .
I instantly became it hit my family and,church family . I plan on baking it again for this Easter dinner . I pray all are staying home and safe during these very unsettling times with the Covid19 . Thank you Rachel for sharing May God bless.
Wonderful John! I’m so glad you love it. We are well and thank you–the very same to you! –Rachel
It turned out great! Yes, you will dirty up most of your bowls, but well worth it. Very dense and rich. I doubled the icing (glad I did) and would highly recommend using a stand mixer for this. Hand mixer is fine for the cake batter. Thank you for sharing.
I love the cake! In the video you fold the eggs first, and the recipe add pecans and coconut first, I watched the video but followed the written recipe;. Mine came little dry, what could be the cause? Thanks
Ah Olga I’m likely to do about anything on video!!! Just follow the written one and you’ll be safe. Dryness could be two things: 1)over mixing the batter and 2) over baking. Those are usually it. –Rachel
Love the detail in the video and she is awesome. ?
Ah thanks Shanon! –Rachel
Your video is great! I love your style, you’re encouraging, good teacher and your videographer did a great job, as well capturing your overall method and then zooming in on the details which is so helpful to the viewer. I appreciate your clarity and down home style, no arrogance. Makes me believe I can do this! I haven’t tried your recipe yet (but have enjoyed this cake) only because I need to watch the sugar. I’ll have to give it a go when I have guests for dinner. Thanks for your tutorial!
Oh thank you so much MJ 🙂 I try really hard to make sure things are approachable whether by video or written out here on the blog. This is certainly a cake to share and not something I’d recommend taking on by yourself! –Rachel
I have very limited storage space, so three more cake pans is out of the question for me. Would this work in a 9 X 13 pan? How long would you bake it?
Hey Maria, I’ve never baked it in a 9×13 but I think other people have with success. I’d recommend baking just until a toothpick comes out clean. Start checking it at about 15 minutes and check it every 3 to 5 until it’s done. –Rachel
This cake would probably be good with a butter cream frosting opposed to cream cheese frosting
Well this is one of those cases where this particular recipe has an “assigned” frosting. If you haven’t tasted it yet I think you’d probably change your mind on the buttercream because the cake itself is super mild in flavor and if you put buttercream on it which is also a mild flavored frosting you’d have sweet on sweet and not much else. The cream cheese adds a bit of tang and balance to the dish. –Rachel
yes your right I will follow recipe
You’re welcome to do it any old way you’d like Don but you’ll like it much better in the original version I think! –Rachel
If I wanted to use three 9 inch pans can I use the same cake recipe?
You can–they will just be a bit thinner than originally intended. The cakes are already quite delicate so you may have a bit of trouble getting them out of the pans without breaking them. Just something to consider. –Rachel
My family and I love this cake ( even Beka who hates nuts and coconut). The only Thai would do different is to chop my nits s little smaller. The cake was wonderfully moist too.
I’ve made many Italian Creme Cakes over the years and found a way to make the cake even better. If you can find frozen flaked coconut, it really adds a lot of moisture to your cake layers. I would not use it to decorate the cake frosting, but used in the batter it really adds to the flavor and moistness without the texture of flaked coconut that many people find objectionable.
@Pam S, This may seem like a really dumb question, but if you bought shredded coconut and put it in the freezer for a few days, would this give the same results as frozen coconut?
There’s not a reason to need to freeze the coconut for this recipe. –Rachel