Leave a CommentShare: |
Subscribe
This cake is not for the faint of heart! Not with butter, eggs, buttermilk, two kinds of sugar, and cream cheese. Not to mention the coconut and pecans. This is a cake among cakes.
Georgia always makes this cake for my cousin for his birthday. This year is his big 5-0. And Georgia is still recovering from her recent hip surgery. (She’s doing well!) So while my cousin’s wife was working hard preparing his birthday dinner and setting the party scene, I made Georgia’s Italian Cream Cake, with her recipe she’s been using for 50 years.
Which means I had a lot to live up to here. I couldn’t let Georgia down!
Here’s the recipe. Make it with me!
Printer-Friendly
How to make Italian Cream Cake:
The cake
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening (or lard)
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecans, chopped
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Cream butter and shortening.
Add sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in egg yolks.
I’ve been having to buy eggs from the store lately because the chickens have been on strike. But! See those two eggs in the front? They came from my chickens! They’re back to work! (Very exciting.)
Combine flour and baking soda; beat into creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
Stir in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
Then fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. (Don’t over-stir.) Pour into three greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350-degrees for 25 minutes. Cool and frost.
*I used three 9-inch cake pans for thin layers with lots of cream cheese frosting in between. You could also bake this cake using just two 9-inch cake pans, or using two or three 8-inch cake pans, or a 13 x 9 pan. Or even cupcakes. Adjust the baking time accordingly.
The frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
16 ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
chopped pecans
Beat cream cheese and butter; add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat till smooth and creamy. Frost cake.
Sprinkle the top with pecans.
But we’re not done! We have to get the cake over to my cousin’s house! And we have to somehow manage to get this lovely cake there without messing it up. And we have to drive down this road. Remember this road?
Here, you hold the cake.
I have to drive. I hope you’re really careful with it because I wouldn’t want to be you when Georgia sees it if you mess it up!
I mean, you get one nut out of place and she’ll go crazy on you. She can really fly off the handle sometimes. She’s a tyrant, I tell you. A tyrant!
To make things more difficult, it’s already dark and it’s still a little snowy and icy.
AND BUMPY. WATCH THE CAKE. You doing okay?
Whew. I’m glad you got it here all right.
My cousin said my cake was as good as his mother made it.
I could tell Georgia was just about to fly into a rage and knock him upside the head so–
–I reminded him it was not as good as his mother’s and couldn’t ever be.
And then we all lived happily ever after.
Happy birthday, Mark!
(The End.)
Find this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
See All My Recipes
Printer-Friendly
1:54
am
YOU ARE THE WINNER ……and we all know it!
I just treasure this Blog amonst all others…..
I do believe your nickname should be:
W O N D E R W O M A N
4:22
am
4:43
am
Sara
5:18
am
i enjoyed the morning ritual of making a coffee and sitting down to vote and check the running totals.
guess i’ll have to make that fabulous cake instead and eat that with my coffee……..
5:24
am
I just bought myself a Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas. Maybe I should make this cake?
Love the blog…
5:29
am
5:36
am
Happy Birthday, Mark!!! Looks like you had a great celebration!
I guess I can remove the tab to Sam-e voting/watching from starting up when I open my browser……….just feels strange without heading over there….. BUT there’s still the chance of clicking over there to read YOUR Sam-e Good Mood Blog!! I don’t like waiting!!!
But, if you can, I guess I can, too!!
5:43
am
5:49
am
6:06
am
6:07
am
Your cake looks wonderful! And yes what did Georgia think of the cake? I bet she loved it..
Have a great day!
Hugs Granny Trace
6:30
am
6:35
am
6:40
am
6:41
am
6:41
am
6:42
am
7:14
am
Nice to see Georgia again and I’m glad she is doing well. She is such a sweetheart. Since you moved to your own farm, we don’t get to see much of her.
7:20
am
I think you won more than just a job with this SamE contest Suzanne. I don’t have to tell you that though. I know you realize it.
It is going to be strange not to vote today though. I’m relieved and sad at the same time! lol
Glad I could get the cake down the road for you in one piece. lol
7:21
am
I’m going to make this cake for Christmas…I love a cake with coconut in it!
Deb
7:37
am
7:45
am
7:51
am
7:52
am
7:53
am
7:54
am
8:11
am
8:13
am
8:14
am
8:15
am
8:22
am
Is there an aimlessly wandering emoticon??
8:28
am
Good morning Suzanne, what a wonderful trip you took us on this morning, it was so nice of you to share photos of your family with us. Georgia looks like one of those ladys you have just got to hug every time you see her. I hope she is out and about soon.
Thank you slso for this cake. It is one of our favorites, although I have never has the nerve to bake it, I have waited for a recipe that I knew would be good, and here it is. I will make this for our Christmas cake.
We are all anxious to hear the news about the blog. I checked the voting last night–amd will keep my thoughts to myself. Nuff said.
Have a wonderful 50 year Mark, you are now considered a collectable.
JO
8:31
am
8:35
am
Yum! Thanks for sharing Georgias’s recipe. I have a coconut cake that’s my “standby” for events but it calls for three days of chilling. This one looks equally delicious sans the holding time. I can’t wait to try it.
Rys
8:41
am
I’ve been voting for you – I just don’t identify with some of the other bloggers in the contest. One of the reasons your blog brightens my day is you are so creative with what is around you. You make wonderful things happen with everyday items that you find during your everyday activities…and the food! Comfort and tasty taken to the next level. Yum. I really enjoy carefully tended family recipes. Those are the best.
You have a don’t miss blog for me!
8:46
am
8:47
am
Sounds like a great birthday. And the cake looks delish (and pretty).
Lish, now there’s an idea. A vote button that does nothing! That could work. Weaning, right. I need some of that.
8:50
am
9:02
am
Just let me say that you deserve this job! You are wonderful and I am praying that you get it ad I have voted every single day! I know you will be busy, busy, busy if you do and might not have time to do another big project BUT……
Just in case you don’t get it (and I am praying that you do!) PLEASE do a cookbook!!!! I’m willing to buy a bunch of them as gifts for my cookbook-loving mom, aunts, grandma……
Okay, I’ll quit begging now! Anyone else want to see Suzanne do a cookbook? Oooops, sorry, I said I would quit…I promise….bye now….PLEASE…..
9:05
am
My Grandma didn’t make this cake, now I know I was missing something in my childhood. Oh but she did make some great cakes. I’ll have to look up the recipes and share.
I miss voting! Is there anyway we can watch what is going on over there at SAM-e to see what is going on?Suzanne…give us something to vote for!!!
9:07
am
Do you take orders??????????
9:07
am
9:08
am
9:35
am
9:43
am
9:48
am
10:04
am
Everyone stay warm (and out of the ditches) – animals too!
10:08
am
10:13
am
10:20
am
10:39
am
I am hopeful for you Suzanne that your wit and quick humor and your wonderful writing skills will bring you into first place. I went around to all my boards and facebook this morning first thing and thanked them for the continual voting. I am praying that you win.
10:47
am
10:54
am
Happy Birthday, Mark, you lucky fellow, you!
10:55
am
11:30
am
11:31
am
11:41
am
11:52
am
Best of luck with the paying gig, but I just wanted you to know that you’re already a winner in my book!! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they call, email, or whatever real soon to let you know that you’re the ONE! I enjoy your blog so much and if the folks at SAMe checked it out I know they did as well. Keep up the great work.
p.s. wonder if you could leave out the cocounut in the Italian Creme Cake? Not a lover of coconut.
12:02
pm
12:10
pm
I would love to buy a couple of her cook books if she would do one–I think that is a wonderful idea. Even though her recipes are posted, it would be nice to give to those that dont use the internet. What a wonderful wedding gift they would make!
JO
1:23
pm
1:28
pm
1:41
pm
1:41
pm
2:02
pm
3:26
pm
3:33
pm
3:48
pm
4:32
pm
4:41
pm
5:37
pm
Looks like your cousin had a wonderful time at his party! Your cake looks yummy but I’m sure that your Aunt Georgia’s cake looks even yummier!
So does your family have some Italian in it? Is that why you are such a good cook?
I thought for sure they would let us know who the winner was today!
Angela
7:15
pm
7:24
pm
7:32
pm
Did you know your cousin looks like Stephen King?
7:42
pm
8:47
pm
So whether or not you get the paying gig, and I truely hope you do, as you totally deserve and have earned it, you are my good mood blogger.
Thank you Suzanne for being, well, for just being you.
9:17
pm
And going down that road is just like my grandparents but I think the ruts were deeper. No matter it just looks like going home.
10:33
pm
1:01
am
12:24
pm
3:17
pm
10:28
pm
7:45
pm
Suzanne, I love looking at your pictures and all the good recipes. They look so delicious. I am going to try some of them sometime. I have made Italian Cream Cake but not in a long time. I will try your recipe soon. I live in Kentucky and we are having some really cold weather this week and lots of snow. We’re almost down to Zero. I will be glad to see at least a little warmer weather. I love your website and keep it up.
8:27
pm