by carrie
Birthday, Christmas, Conquering Intimidating Dishes, Dessert, Food + Entertaining, Italian, New Year, Showers
ItalianCreamCakePlatter
ItalianCreamCake
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I never in a million years thought I could make my mother’s Italian Cream Cake. It’s 3 layers and made from scratch and is the best tasting cake I’ve ever had.
My mother showed me step by step how to make this cake. She basically let me do everything and just looked over my shoulder. This is by far the best tasting Italian Cream Cake that you are going to find a recipe for.
Pan Notes: I used 3 round pans. Bottom pan was a 9 inch round and the 2 top pans where 8.5 inch round. I used the 9 inch round as the base of the cake.
Icing Notes: When making the icing you will need to adjust depending on where you are. If you are in a dryer climate you will need more butter. I will make a note of this in the ingredient list but I wanted you to know why. If you are in a humid climate like me then you will need less butter in your icing.
Assembly Notes: If you want to stabilize your cake because you might be taking it somewhere you can take straws and cut them to the appropriate size and stick it in the center through the 3 layers. This will secure the cake. Since I wasn’t going anywhere I didn’t do this at all and the cake was fine. I just wanted to give you that option.
Icing the Cake: Once I put my layers on the cake stand I cut strips of parchment and stick it around the base of the cake so that when I am icing it doesn’t get on the stand. Once I am done I remove the parchment and it has a nice clean finish at the bottom.
Italian Cream Cake Recipe
Pans that I used
3 round pans, if you can I like using 9inch for the base then 8.5 for the top 2 layers.
Ingredients
Cake Batter
2 Cups of Sifted All Purpose Flour (I like to use Farino Tipo 00 – An Italian Flour, note: you can also use Cake Flour)
2 Cups of Sugar
1 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup of Shredded Coconut
1 Cup of finely chopped walnuts
5 Egg Whites (beat until stiff peaks)
5 Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon of baking soda
Cake Icing
8 oz of Cream Cheese
1/2 Stick of butter for humid climates OR 1. to 1.5 sticks in dryer climates
1 teaspoon of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of Creme de Cacao (optional but I like it)
8 oz of Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon of the White Chocolate Flavoring (optional)
*Note for Dryer Climates use 1 to 1.5 sticks of butter
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. If your oven browns quickly then take it down 15 to 20 degrees. Grease and flour 3 round cake pans.
1. Cream butter with sugar and add vanilla.
2. Next add 5 separated egg yolks and 1/2 cup of olive oil – mix and beat until fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients: Sifted flour and the baking soda.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture a little at a time alternating with the buttermilk (about 1/4 cup at a time).
5. Next mix in walnuts and coconut.
6. In another bowl beat the egg whites until you have stiff peaks.
7. With a spatula gently fold in your egg whites into the batter by making the figure 8 pattern.
8. Spoon the batter into your 3 pans and make them as even as you can.
9. Bake until light brown and for about 30 to 60 minutes (use a toothpick in the center and make sure no batter is on the stick).
10. Once the cakes are done pull them out and let them cool.
11. After they cool place the cakes on parchment and use a brush to dust off the crumbs (easier to ice).
12. Next Cream all of the ingredients together for the icing in this order: Cream Cheese, Butter, Buttermilk, Vanilla extract, Creme de Cacao, and Powdered Sugar. Note: If your note using Creme de Cacao just double up on the Vanilla extract.
13. After the icing is mixed start to assemble the cake by taking one of the layers of cake and making it your base. Stick strips of parchment paper around the bottom of the cake. Ice the top of it and add the next layer of cake and ice the top of it adding your final layer of cake.
14. Now start to ice the sides and the top of the cake until covered. Use chopped walnuts or coconut to decorate the sides.
15. Refrigerate the cake until you are going to slice and serve!
Nicole Gamble
Great recipe ! I made it! It`s delicious!!! Thanks for sharing!
Anna
I want to recreate this in my kitchen…Looks so special! A lot of work but the end product is so worth it! Wish me luck…Thanks for sharing!
Gerry/Gewoon Lekker gewoon
In step 2. you mention oil, but I don’t see it added in step 1.? The cake looks yummy, like a tiramisu cake. Many greetings from Holland.
carrie
@Gerry/Gewoon Thanks for catching that. I updated the post so it is clear that 1/2 cup of olive oil is mixed in with the butter, sugar, and egg yolks!
It is a wonderful cake to have and is a family favorite.
Simply Tia
This looks and sounds marvelous!!!! Well done.
Dolores Hall
This looks wonderful & I have been asked to bring this type cake to Christmas dinner. I MUST also, however, bring the carb count for a Type 1 insulin dependent 4 yr. old child. Do you have it?
Mari Gregory
WOW! Looks soooo delicious! I’m dribbling!!! Thanks for sharing!
carrie
@Dolores Hall: It’s an amazing cake and I hope you can try to make it. As for the carb count I have no idea. This is my mother’s recipe that she has been using forever and we don’t have that information on it.
Angel
Give me strength. I’ve had this cake at my favorite dive years ago and people do not make this cake so i’m going to tackle it.
Angel
I can’t find white chocolate flavoring!!!
carrie
@Angel I have found the white chocolate flavoring in the coffee section of my grocery store.
You will find all types of flavoring syrups and white chocolate is usually one of them.
Angel
I found white chocolate hot chocolate. can i use that?
carrie
@Angel is it a syrup or extract?
Angel
I drove all over Vegas trying to find the right one. I did how ever it is sugar free. I hope that dosen’t effect it..
carrie
@Angel Perfect! That works. Sorry you had to drive all over Vegas!
Kim
Do you have to use 3 round pans? Could you do it as one long cake in a 9 x 13?
carrie
Hi Kim, Yes can use a 9 x 13. Just yesterday I used a bundt pan but changed up the icing for a lighter texture since I wasn’t layering cake rounds. It’s in another post on the site: Italian Cream Bundt Cake.
Leslie
does it mader if it is dark or light creme de cacao and the chocolate is supose to be a cream?
carrie
@Leslie It doesn’t matter dark or light creme de cacao will work. I did use the light one for this recipe.
Julie
Hi. I’m going to make this for the first time and was wondering how much (in weight) a stick if butter is? Is it 4oz?
Thanks!
carrie
@Julie a stick of butter is 4 ounces or 113 grams.
Mary
Hi Carrie, just read the recipe and it sounds wonderful. But can you omit the coconut & walnuts? My daughter has alergies to all nuts & nut bi products. Can we substitute something else perhaps?
Tks Mary
carrie
@Mary, Yes you can omit the walnuts and coconut and still have a version of this cake that tastes great. I know this because I’ve had to make it on occasion without them.
But you can sub the coconut with dried pineapple diced up into bits and granola instead of walnuts.
Use the same measurements for the coconut and walnuts just switch it out with the pineapple and granola.
Jane
Hi! I can’t find white chocolate flavoring. Is it ok w/o it? And where would I get creme de cocao?
Thanks so much! I am making for a friend’s birthday who loves Italian Creme Cake!
Blessings, Jane
carrie
@Jane If you can’t find the white chocolate flavoring I would add add another tsp of Vanilla Extract or the creme de cocao.
The creme de cocao can be found at any liqueur store. It’s a chocolate liquor. It will be where you find Frangelico, Grand Manier.
Of course you can omit this too but it does create a nice flavor.
Misty Mudd
This looks delicious! I can’t find white chocolate flavoring…can I use melted white chocolate chips instead?
carrie
@Misty you could adjust it by using 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract instead.
Kathy
Is the coconut the sweetened or unsweetened flakes? Looks delicious!
Thanks
carrie
@Kathy I use sweetened coconut flakes. Thanks!
Jamie
I just baked this cake and am looking forward to cutting into it tomorrow!!
1. I was slightly confused by this statement: “1 teaspoon of baking soda (not powder but soda)” ??
2. I needed to make a second batch of icing (yes, I then ended up with some leftover). But I used a VERY thin layer between the cakes and still had half the cake to frost. :/ Not sure what I did wrong or maybe I just like my cake with a bit more icing.
3. creme de cocao – I did find at the liquor store, however, I did not need SO much and they had no airplane bottles. The clerk at the store said I could use a top shelf version of the same thing, which is what I used because they had the small airplane bottles.
4. I also could not find the white chocolate flavoring
, so I used vanilla extract as you recommended.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!!
carrie
@Jamie so glad you enjoyed the cake! The airplane sized bottle is a smart idea. The Vanilla extract works just fine if you don’t have or can’t find the white chocolate extract. Thanks for you comments!
Lina
I made this cake for the first time and its sooo goood, really you cannot go wrong with this recipe…..I made 3 changes, first one is by mistake, i sifted the sugar with the flour ( i used cake flour) instead of creaming it with the butter…it made no difference…and the second change was i doubled the frosting and added some frozen whipped topping and i didint find Creme de Coco and White chocolate flavoring so i just used coconut extract i had ….It came out perfect….my picky friends loved it 2…Thank You so much for sharing Carrie!!
carrie
@Lina that’s awesome! You really can’t go wrong with it. I use this cake as a base and add different things to it all the time depending on what I have in my pantry! Thanks for your comments
Kathy
Where do I get White Chocolate Flavoring? I have not seen it in our Grovery stores here in Nashville!
carrie
@Kathy You can find the white chocolate flavoring in the coffee section. It is used to make coffee drinks.
If you can’t find it just double up on the Vanilla Extract.
annie
io ci provo…
carrie
@Annie Fatemi Sapere!
Will
Looks pretty good, but can you give a slightly narrower range for how long it takes to bake?
carrie
@Will every oven is different and the climate is also something to consider. I would monitor the oven and see how the layers look at 30 minutes. If it needs more then I would check it after an additional 10 minutes. For me it takes about 40 minutes to bake the 3 layers. I hope this helps!
But at my mom’s house it takes 45 t 50 minutes. So getting to know your oven is the key to bake times.
Besides looking at the color, I also do the toothpick test to make sure the center has no batter.
Cherie
8 oz of powdered sugar does not seem like it would make enough for all that cake. Is that correct? Of course I like lots of frosting.
carrie
@Cherie Yes I used 8 oz of powdered sugar. It’s a thin layer of icing between the cake layers. If you typically like more icing I would double it up to make sure you have enough.
Note: I’ve always preferred less icing because I like the actual cake to come through. This batter is really good and I didn’t want to cover it up with thick layers of icing. This is all just personal preference.
samantha
Is it important to separate the egg yolks? Would it be possible for me to mix in the eggs all together with the batter?
carrie
@samantha yes you must separate the egg yolks because it is a critical part of making this batter.
The egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks and added to the batter to give the cake moisture, airiness, and smoothness so don’t skip it.
Lupe
How many people does this feed? I need the cake to feed about 40 people.
Geri
I volunteered to make the birthday cake and then found out birthday girl’s favorite is Italian cream cake. I wasn’t even sure what that meant, so I looked up recipes and decided to try yours, BUT I cook for the lactose intolerant. I substituted buttermilk for Silk soured with vinegar, butter for Willow Run soy margarine, and cream cheese for Tofutti Imitation Cream Cheese. It came out great! Next time I’ll double the icing recipe. Thank you!
carrie
@Lupe if you cut thin slices you could probably feed 15 to 18 people. It’s 3 layers so think slices work. If you are wanted to feed 40 I would double this up and make 2 rounds or 1 big sheet cake in 3 layers.
hillary
How would this translate for a sheet cake? I actually need to make it into a 12×18 sheet cake so Im trying to figure out if I need to double it or what. Thank you!
carrie
@hillary For a 12 x 18 sheet cake I would double it up to make sure you have enough. If you have extra batter I would have a few cupcake liners on hand to put the rest into. Hope this helps!
Dina
My oven will not hold all three cake pans at once, will the cake batter lose its texture if it sits out while the other is cooking ???
tony morinelli
The cake is terrific. But where is the Italian cream between the layers? One vanilla cream, one chocolate.
carrie
@Tony I use thin layers of icing between the layers. It’s a personal preference.
I prefer more of the cake to come through verses the icing.
But if you are a fan of thick icing you can layer it on as thick as you like!
carrie
@Dina I would try it out and see. I don’t think it will lose it’s texture. Also with less pans in the oven the layer should bake quicker.
Jennie Hull
I have a question about making this cake. I have looked at several different recipes for italian cream cake. This looks the most delish!!! the other recipes call for pecans instead of walnuts. Have you used either or? and which do you prefer? I am making to take to church for an Italian Dinner. Thanks so much!
carrie
@Jennie I prefer walnuts hands down!
Sharon
I ate this cake at an Italian restaurant and immediately fell in love with it. Searched the internet and found your recipe to be the best and would make it this weekend!
I guess it’s possible to bake the batter in one cake pan and then slice into 3?
Thanks for sharing.
carrie
@Sharon, sure you can bake and slice into 3 halves.
Ruby
I made this cake for my co-workers birthday and she loved it!!! I’m having a Pure Romance Party and making it into cake balls. Thank you for sharing this recipe. LOVE IT!!!!! I also doubled the frosting. We love tons of frosting on our cakes.dc
carrie
@ Ruby so glad it worked out
Stacey
Made this tonight for my husband’s birthday. Big hit! It was wonderful!
carrie
@Stacey so glad that you guys enjoyed it. It’s my personal favorite birthday cake too.
Lauren
Is it okay if I omit the Creme de Cocoa? Would you recommend adding another teaspoon of vanilla extract? Thanks!
carrie
@Lauren Yes, add another teaspoon of vanilla if you don’t have the Creme de Cocoa.
Maggie
Does it have to be olive oil.
carrie
@Maggie, you don’t have to use Olive oil but it does make for a moist cake!
Ruby
We are throwing my boss a baby shower. I know she likes this cake, because I’ve made it several times. I’ve even made it Gulten Free and you can’t taste the difference. I know she has had a chocolate version of it from a expensive bakery in town. I wanted to know if you know how much chocoalte to use in the cake and frosting to make it a chocolate Italina Cream Cake. Please advise. I’m sure she would enjoy this cake alot for her baby shower. Thanks
carrie
@Ruby I just sent you my recipe of the Chocolate Italian Cream Cake. I haven’t had a chance to photograph it so that’s why it isn’t on the site yet. But you’ve put a pin in it for me so I will work on it
Ruby
Thank you so much!! I know my boss will love her cake. Your an amazing person!!!!
I will keep you posted.
Becky
Carrie, What a great recipe! I have been looking at Italian Cream Cake Recipes for a couple years now. Just never made the effort to make it.
Hubby was having an Italian Luncheon at work. So, I decided to try out your recipe, it seemed different than the rest. It was difficult to find the Cream De Cocoa & White Chocolate, but so worth the effort.
OMG, it turned out great, everyone asked for the recipe. I assure you that I gave your blog and you credit for this cake. Thank you so much for sharing your mother’s fantastic recipe
Becky
I forgot to tell you, Hubby says this is his new Favorite cake.
I too, am interested in your Chocolate Italian Cheese Cake.
Thanks again.