19 replies to this topic

[BakerLady]

I would love a really good tried and true recipe for a from scratch italian cream cake. Does anyone have one to share?

Jane

[DragonflyDesserts]

Italian Cream Cake

½ cup Butter
½ cup Shortening
2 cups Sugar
5 eggs, seperated
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup Buttermilk
2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 cup Chopped pecans
2 cups coconut
1 tsp vanilla


Pre heat the oven to 350°

Cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yokes, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add buttermilk alternately with dry ingredients, ending with flour. Stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans
Beat egg whites. Fold into cake mixture. Bake in 3 greased 9 inch layer pans at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan.


This cake is delicious iced with Cream Cheese Frosting and looks beautiful with toasted coconut rolled around the sides. It is a very tender cake and can be hard to slice but worth it!

Hope you enjoy!

[CaliPoutine]

Ive made a lightened italian cream cake from Cooking light and its really, really good. I can PM you the recipe if you want it.

[shaloop]

I started with the above recipe (some time ago) and felt it was too heavy. I lightened it somewhat (for the sake of texture, not so much calories) and came up with this:

Italian Cream Cake

½ cup Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
4 eggs, seperated
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup Buttermilk
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c coconut
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat the oven to 325°

Grease bottoms only of two - 9" cake pans. Line with parchment. Stir baking soda into buttermilk and set aside in large measuring cup (will increase in volume.) Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add buttermilk alternately with dry ingredients, ending with flour. Stir in vanilla, and coconut. Beat egg whites. Fold into cake mixture. Bake in prepared pans in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Cake will be golden on top and just beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Cool 10 minutes, then remove carefully from pan. Once completely cool, frost with Cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans.

[cakezilla]

With the many variations of the ICC, I was hoping someone or someones could help clarify the traditional anatomy of the beast as we know it. Just want on Earth does he consist of? White cake with a coconut/walnut filling, yellow cake with a pineapple filling and a coconut/walnut icing? white cake with an addition of coconut milk?

[Caroline923]

My understanding it is normally shredded coconut, chopped pecans, yellow cake base and egg whites whipped separately and folded into keep it light also uses buttermilk - with almond and vanilla flavorings both - at least this is in thte South...

[ludja]

My understanding it is normally shredded coconut, chopped pecans, yellow cake base and egg whites whipped separately and folded into keep it light also uses buttermilk - with almond and vanilla flavorings both - at least this is in thte South...

My understanding it is normally shredded coconut, chopped pecans, yellow cake base and egg whites whipped separately and folded into keep it light also uses buttermilk - with almond and vanilla flavorings both - at least this is in thte South...

And for the icing, the most common choice seems to be cream cheese frosting with or without toasted pecans.

Welcome to eGullet, cakezilla!

[takomabaker]

My grandmother made something suspiciously similar for Christmas every year, called a Hummingbird Cake.

I did some research on Southern Living's website. You only have access to the recipes as a subscriber, and I believe that only posting the ingredients is not a copyright infringement, so here are the ingredients for both:

Southern Living Magazine's Italian Cream Cake:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flaked coconut
Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting
Garnishes: toasted pecan halves, chopped pecans

Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted

Hummingbird Cake (which they bill as the most requested recipe in Southern Living history")
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup chopped pecans

With the many variations of the ICC, I was hoping someone or someones could help clarify the traditional anatomy of the beast as we know it. Just want on Earth does he consist of? White cake with a coconut/walnut filling, yellow cake with a pineapple filling and a coconut/walnut icing? white cake with an addition of coconut milk?

[shaloop]

With the many variations of the ICC, I was hoping someone or someones could help clarify the traditional anatomy of the beast as we know it. Just want on Earth does he consist of? White cake with a coconut/walnut filling, yellow cake with a pineapple filling and a coconut/walnut icing? white cake with an addition of coconut milk?

Agreed. Southern cake. Rich, white, buttermilk cake with coconut, cream cheese frosting and pecans.

[Mr. Delicious]

I had a request at my bakery for an Italian Cream Cake. I have never heard of it and I need advise on the best way to make it. Help me please.

[ludja]

Here is yet another older "Italian Cream Cake" topic... (triple merge???)
another Italian Cream Cake topic

Edited by gfron1, 11 September 2007 - 11:26 AM.

[Franci]

I had a request at my bakery for an Italian Cream Cake.  I have never heard of it and I need advise on the best way to make it.  Help me please.

Do you mean an Italian Italian cake or an Italian American cake?
In Italian a cream cake could be a Mimosa cake ,an example from Nennaki web site, or a cake (pan di spagna) sliced and filledwith italian chantilly (2/3 of pastry cream and 1/3 of whipped cream) and decorated with cream and fruit , this is very nice from Maria Letizia web site

[Desiderio]

On the previous thread about Italian cream cake , I was a bit confused , because I dont recall an italian cake like that ( somethign about coconut )or anything that would be famous under that name and descriptio,so I am guessing like Franci said this must be an american italian cake that italian never heard of .

[SweetSide]

My understanding (although it may be wrong) is that an Italian Cream Cake has southern US roots. Popular as a cake for weddings. I don't think that they mean a cream cake from Italy -- which actually sound much better!

We make a version where I work, and leave out the coconut and pecans and call it French Vanilla cake.

[shaloop]

My understanding (although it may be wrong) is that an Italian Cream Cake has southern US roots.  Popular as a cake for weddings.  I don't think that they mean a cream cake from Italy -- which actually sound much better!

We make a version where I work, and leave out the coconut and pecans and call it French Vanilla cake.

Do you mean that you use an Italian Cream Cake recipe but simply omit the coconut and pecans? Does it still have buttermilk in it and cream cheese frosting?

[ruthcooks]

My recipe for Italian Cream Cake seems to have disappeared, but it definitely contained no banana or pineapple. While most versions have cream cheese icing, mine had an icing which started with a cooked milk and flour mixture, which after chilling was beaten into a sugar and butter mixture until light. I can't remember whether the coconut and nuts were in the (white) cake or icing.

Just because it's made in the South does not make it a Southern recipe...opinions are mixed on the origin. Hummingbird cake is Southern, and is something quite different.

[SweetSide]

We leave out the coconut and pecans. I see another thread hear that mentions pineapple, but this one has no pineapple in the "cream cake" formulation. And yes, it has buttermilk in it and uses a separated egg method.

We do not frost it with cream cheese frosting -- we frost with Swiss meringue buttercream.

[Mr. Delicious]

Here is my first attemt, i used the sourthern living recipe, and it turned out great. Thanks for your help!

[SummerSun]

It's my Grandmother's 80th birthday on Saturday. She has asked me to make her an Italian Cream Cake and I have no experience with this type of cake. Can anyone advise me?

Thanks inadvance

[chefpeon]

Did you see all the recipes posted upthread?
Do you need some other kind of help besides getting the actual recipe?