So, with the wood stove finally blazing, to make the house toasty warm, dogs sacked out around it like stuffed animals tossed aside, I decided to be nice and make him something special – an Italian Cream Cake. Ever since Sir Flying Ace’s and Miss Amelia Air-Heart’s wedding, Mr. Fix-It has been wanting another Italian Cream Cake. Only, he wanted it the way their wedding cake was – no coconut. It does make a difference – especially for those who aren’t crazy about coconut!!

Now, you know me. I had to find out the background on Italian Cream Cakes and so I researched and researched and guess what. There IS no background on Italian Cream Cakes. This is the best I could come up with from Answer.com and a recipe book:

“While the Italian Cream Cake has its roots in renaissance Italy, the first written record of it is first seen in Canada in 1913. It is not until 1937 that the first recipe of Italian Creak Cake surfaces in the Plano News from Texas. Over the years the recipe has grown more complicated, though it is adored for its endless flavor combinations.”

And

“Not much is known about the origin of the Italian cream cake. The recipe apparently first appeared in the southern part of the United States and was the creation of an Italian baker who had moved to the U.S.”

Evidently, we rednecks are more crazy about this cake than are Italians. That would make sense since it is all about butter and pecans!

So here is my version of the Italian Cream Cake. And just a note, I use my own, homemade bourbon vanilla which I’ll show in an upcoming post.

Preheat oven to 350º

Ingredients:
1 stick real butter
½ cup cooking oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
5 eggs separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
(regular recipes add 3 oz of shredded coconut – not me!)

Icing:
1 stick real butter at room temperature
1 (1 lb box) powdered sugar (approx. 3 ¾ cup)
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla