Italian Cream Cake

By LPGerrald

Our family's all-time favorite! This was my most popular specialty cake among my cake customers.

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs, separated at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temp.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 2 9" cake pans, line with parchment. Grease and flour pans.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar till thickened to meringue. Set aside.
In separate bowl, cream 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, Crisco and vanilla. Add yolks, one at a time, until thick and well blended. Stir baking soda into buttermilk. Set aside (but not too long!).
Sift salt with flour and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix well. Fold in egg whites until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until cake pulls away from sides of pan and tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Fill and ice with cream cheese frosting.