Shelly's Recipe

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

Category: Cakes

Cake:
3 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
12 oz confectioners sugar
1 (8 oz) jar seedless raspberry preserves

To make cake: Heat oven to 325. Spray 3 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Dust with flour. Spread coconut out on a cookie pan and bake about 3 minutes, toss and bake another 3 minutes, until coconut is lightly toasted. Set aside.

Cream butter, shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time. Sift together flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla, 1/2 cup coconut and pecans.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into cake mixture. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Invert on cooling racks until cool.

To make frosting: Whip together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually whip in the confectioners sugar. When frosting the cake, spread frosting on top of bottom layer and middle layer. Spread raspberry on the bottom of middle layer and top layer. Stack layers. Frost top and sides. Press the remaining coconut on outside of cake.