Let me start straight by telling you that there is nothing Italian about Italian Cream Cake. This is a very American cake, mostly from Texas (Iam not very sure about it though)
Italian Cream cake uses lots of toasted coconut and pecans in a buttery vanilla cake. It is layered with cream cheese frosting. I used double cream here. The cake is then decorated with more toasted coconut and pecans. Each layer is delicious with the cream, toasted nuts and a lovely coconut flavour. So if you love the latter, this cake is for you.
I have been so enamoured by this cake but couldn’t really get an occasion until Christmas to bake it. This is totally a showstopper cake. Its big, heavy, grand and absolutely delicious. The recipe I have used for my cake is from the wonderful food blogger Melissa. Her reciepe was a total winner, the cake was loved by everyone. Check out the recipe here
Here are few notes from my baking experience of this cake
- The cake is big. Best is to use sandwich tins.
- For the frosting, I used double cream. All recipes i have referred including this one uses cream cheese and butter which is equally luxurious. However I always prefer cream over cream cheese. Using double cream turned equally fine and I was able to ice it well as in the pictures.
- I used 600ml of double cream for the frosting. However I was still short of it and couldn’t put any swirls on the top.
- I did not find sweetened flaked coconut as it was my last minute christmas eve shopping. So i had no option than to use dessicated coconut. While the cake turned out to be just fine with even dessicated coconut, I feel, the flaked coconut at least on the outside would have been a better choice.
- Toasting pecans is must. You will not get the right flavours with the raw ones. Same goes for the coconut as well.
- The recipe uses buttermilk. I couldn’t find whole buttermilk, there was only low fat one available. The cake turned just fine with it too.
In summary, this is a fantastic centerpiece cake. It will wow your guests. Reserve it for an occasion when you have an audience and this will stand out.
A white cake for a white Christmas (even though it didn’t snow on Christmas in London :))
Wish you all a wonderful New Year 2023. See you soon with more recipes.
