Italian Cream Cake

So, for some reason 2/3 of my children were born in March.  Aside from knowing that June must have been a busy month for me for a few years in the '70s, what that says about me is that I had to be pretty creative to make each kid feel like they were having their own special day.  Unfortunately, I did combine the birthdays a time or two (the first time being Sheli's 4th birthday when I gave her a little brother [she wanted a Barbie] as a gift then held her party a week late) most recently when they were teens and I offered to cook lasagna (Marc's favorite, not Sheli's) for their dinner.  Needless to say, I've learned from my mistakes and try a lot harder these days to acknowledge each person individually.  Marc got a carrot cake this year (from a box) and dinner out.  Sheli got an Italian cream cake made from scratch.  Even with the dinner, Marc came up at a loss this year.  That Italian cream was the bomb!!

So, here's the recipe and I would hope that all of you will let me know when you're pulling yours out of the oven so I'll have time to get us a cup of coffee on my way over!!

1 cup buttermilk
1tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour


Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour three 9" round cake pans and set aside.
In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.  By hand, stir in eggs, buttermilk mixture, vanilla, coconut, baking powder and flour.  Stir until just combined.  Divide batter equally between pans.

Bake in preheated over for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool before frosting.

To Make Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 TBSP light cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until mixed well.  Add confectioner's sugar, half a cup at a time, until light and fluffy.  Use caution making frosting too sweet.  Use cream to thin to spreadable consistency.  Stir in nuts and coconut.  Spread between layers and on top of cake.