Recipe: Italian Cream Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (using nuts and coconut)

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (3 1/2 oz.) can coconut (1 1/3 cups)
1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans), plus additional for garnish
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Cream margarine and shortening. Add sugar and beat until mixture is smooth. Add egg yolks and beat well.

Combine flour and baking soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla extract. Add coconut and nuts.

Fold in egg whites. Pour into 3 greased and floured (8-inch) round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cake tests done; cool. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or margarine, softened
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and margarine until well blended. Add sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

Makes 1 (8-inch, 3-layer) cake
Adapted from source: Marietta J Slater