Italian Cream Cheese Cake

[nverland]

Italian Cream Cheese Cake
Prep: 40 min. Bake: 20 min. + cooling Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
11 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Beat until just combined. Stir in coconut and pecans.
In another bowl, beat egg whites with clean beaters until stiff but not dry. Fold one-fourth of the egg whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Stir in pecans. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate.

Tips
Instead of buying buttermilk, you can place 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup and add enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let stand for 5 minutes. Or you can substitute 1 cup of plain yogurt for the buttermilk.
Unless otherwise specified, recipes are tested with lightly salted butter. Unsalted, or sweet, butter is sometimes used to achieve a buttery flavor, such as in shortbread cookies or buttercream frosting. In these recipes, added salt would detract from the buttery taste desired.