Italian cream sheet cake is a classic Southern cake made simple in a sheet pan. With cream cheese icing, pecans, and coconut, it’s perfect! Scroll down for video.
Italian Cream Cake
Some time ago, Philip announced that he had decided that he wanted an Italian cream cake for his birthday. As ubiquitous as Italian cream cake seems to be, you might be surprised to know that I don’t have a single recipe for Italian cream cake in any of my many cookbooks. However, I was searching through my grandmother’s recipe books over the holidays and discovered this:
Sheet Cakes 4-Evah
A few adjustments (I’ve never seen canned coconut in my life, and you guys know I don’t buy shortening) and I turned out a lovely and delicious sheet cake. Oh, did I mention that this rectangular cake pan from USA Pans has revolutionized my cake baking life? I may never bake another layer cake again. I love the ease of doing everything in one pan and then just throwing some foil over the top of the pan for transport instead of having to turn it out of the pan (crumbs everywhere), ice it on a cardboard round, and then load it into a cake carrier while praying that it doesn’t somehow topple into the sides of the carrier. Easy cake recipes = life!
It’s a Southern Cake!
The funny thing about this cake is that I am almost certain that there’s nothing Italian about it. As I searched for the origins of Italian cream cake online, I found this information on Food Timeline that describes a cake that sounds nothing like this Italian cream cake that Southerners have come to know and love…which leads me to the conclusion that the origins of this cake are not Italian but from right here in the Southeast region of the United States.
I am fairly certain that I gained a couple of pounds just scraping the bowl of icing. And I still have this cake in my kitchen. It’s threatening to be my downfall.
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Mary
Yield: 1 13x9 sheet cake (about 20 servings)
30 minPrep Time:
40 minCook Time:
1 hr, 10 Total Time:
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Ingredients
- 5 eggs, separated
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 13×9 cake pan and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, beat the eggs whites on high speed until stiff peaks are reached. Set aside (if you are using a stand mixer, you will need to transfer the whites to a different bowl and clean out the mixer bowl).
- Whisk the flour and the baking soda together in a medium bowl.
- Cream together the 2 sticks of butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, about a third of each at a time. Add the vanilla then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the pecans and the coconut.
- Carefully fold the reserved eggs whites into the cake batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the icing, cream the butter and cream cheese using an electric mixture on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until well combined. Add the vanilla and the coconut and beat until incorporated.
- Spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle evenly with the chopped pecans.
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