Chocolate Italian Cream Cake – a classic Southern chocolate cake loaded with coconut and pecans and frosted with chocolate cream cheese frosting. O-M-YUM! This cake is to-die-for! From scratch buttermilk cake batter with egg whites folded in the batter. SO moist and decadent! This cake is great for the holidays and birthday celebrations! This cake is the BEST! #cake #dessert #chocolate #coconut #pecans #buttermilk
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Pin This RecipeBest Chocolate Italian Cream Cake Recipe
This recipe is a chocolatey twist on a classic desert. Italian Cream Cake is one of my favorite desserts. Funny enough, the cake isn’t really Italian. It is more of a Southern recipe. This cake has three layers of moist chocolate cake filled with shredded coconut and toasted pecans. The chocolate cream cheese frosting really puts this cake over the top! The cake is light and fluffy and almost too easy to eat!
How to Make Chocolate Italian Cream Cake from Scratch
This cake might look intimidating but it is really easy to make. Start with beating some egg whites until light and fluffy and set aside. In a bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Add sugar and egg yolks. Alternate adding flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and buttermilk to the batter. Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Carefully fold in the egg whites and divide the batter between three pans. Cool the cake completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, mix together cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, buttermilk, and pecans. Spread the frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with extra pecans, if desired.
Tips for Making Cake from Scratch
- If you don’t like coconut, you can omit it.
- To make Homemade Buttermilk, add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture sit until it starts to curdle, about 5 minutes.
- I don’t like shortening. Can I use all butter? You can omit the shortening if you prefer. It will change the texture of the cake, but it will still be fine.
- If you don’t like pecans, you can substitute walnuts.
- Can Italian Cream Cake be frozen? Yes! You can freeze the cake layers unfrosted or freeze the whole frosted cake.
- To freeze the layers to frost later, cool the cake completely and wrap the layers in plastic wrap. Place each one in a freezer bag and freeze. Remove the layers from the freezer a few hours to thaw before frosting.
- To freeze the whole frosted cake, place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove the cake and wrap in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and place back into the freezer. Thaw the cake for an hour or so before serving.
- Do I need to refrigerate Italian Cream Cake? Yes! You should always refrigerate cakes and desserts with cream cheese frosting. Store the cake in an air-tight container. It will keep 3 to 4 days.
Homemade Cake for Holidays and Parties
This cake is a real show stopper! It is perfect for holiday and birthday celebrations. I am making a cake for our upcoming holiday dinner. I can not wait to dig into a slice of this cake. It is so light and moist and the frosting is to-die-for! Give this a try the next time you need an easy and delicious cake! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
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Chocolate Italian Creme Cake
Ingredients:
Cake
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ⅔ cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions:
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
- Beat egg whites at high speed of an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Beat butter and shortening until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until well blended after each addition.
- Combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Fold in egg whites.
- Divide batter between cake pans.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on wire racks.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon with an electric mixer until creamy.
- Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Gradually add sugar to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in pecans.
- Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of the cake. Garnish with extra chopped pecans and coconut, if desired.
- Store cake in the refrigerator.
Notes:
- If you don’t like coconut, you can omit it.
- To make Homemade Buttermilk, add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture sit until it starts to curdle, about 5 minutes.
- I don’t like shortening. Can I use all butter? You can omit the shortening if you prefer. It will change the texture of the cake, but it will still be fine.
- If you don’t like pecans, you can substitute walnuts.
- Can Italian Cream Cake be frozen? Yes! You can freeze the cake layers unfrosted or freeze the whole frosted cake.
- To freeze the layers to frost later, cool the cake completely and wrap the layers in plastic wrap. Place each one in a freezer bag and freeze. Remove the layers from the freezer a few hours to thaw before frosting.
- To freeze the whole frosted cake, place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove the cake and wrap in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and place back into the freezer. Thaw the cake for an hour or so before serving.
- Do I need to refrigerate Italian Cream Cake? Yes! You should always refrigerate cakes and desserts with cream cheese frosting. Store the cake in an air-tight container. It will keep 3 to 4 days.
Steph
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I can’t wait to make this cake!!