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Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup light butter
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon butter extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites (at room temperature)
- Lemon rind (optional) lemon rind
- CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 1 tablespoon light butter chilled
- 1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese chilled
- 1 (1-pound) package powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare Cream Cheese Icing; cover and chill.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans), and line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust with flour; set aside.
Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and baking soda; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans and extracts.
Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350º for 23 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow metal spatula; turn out onto wire racks. Peel off wax paper; let cool completely.
Place 1 cake layer on a plate. Spread with 2/3 cup Cream Cheese Icing; top with another cake layer. Repeat with 2/3 cup icing and remaining layer, ending with cake layer. Spread remaining icing over sides and top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind, if desired.
Serving Size: 1 slice
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To Make Cream Cheese Icing
Beat butter and cheese at high speed of a mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla; beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat, or icing will become runny). Cover and chill.
Yield: 2 2/3 cups