While it may seem overwhelming at first to be tasked with making enough dessert to feed a big crowd, we think it can actually be easier sometimes when you’ve got the right recipes to turn to, ones that are easy to put together and that work out every time. This Italian cream cake is one of our tried-and-true recipes that bakes in a standard jelly roll baking sheet, which means this dessert can easily serve up to 20 people! Now, we’re not totally sure what makes this cake Italian, but it’s got all your traditional cake ingredients, plus coconut and pecans, which take this recipe to the next level and make it truly great.
So for this cake, we want to make sure it’s as moist and delicious as possible, so we’ve got a cup of butter, five eggs and buttermilk in here to make sure it stays as moist as possible. Adding pecans and coconuts to both the cake itself and on top of the frosting means you’ve got tons of fresh, added flavor that enhance the cake and make this a dessert you’ll be craving all week. If you think it’s too much of either, you can easily choose to just put them in the cake or use ‘em as garnish, or you could just go with pecans or just with coconut – this is your Italian cream cake and you can make it however you like!
The important thing here is that you make this and see how yummy it is. If you’ve got your whole family coming over in the next few weeks and the thought of serving all of them was stressing you out, worry no more – this is the answer. Plus, since sheet cakes end up being relatively thin slices, you can feel great about going back for seconds or trying out a second dessert. Win-win!
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Icing:
1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a jelly roll baking sheet with butter or non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl or mixer, cream together butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes, or until fluffy and lightened in color.
Add eggs and beat until fully incorporated, then mix in vanilla extract.
Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate between adding flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to cake mix, mixing until just incorporated.
Fold in coconut and pecans, then pour batter into greased baking sheet.
Place in oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and let cool
Start frosting by creaming butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl or mixer. 3-4 minutes, or until fluffy.
Working gradually, add in powdered sugar and salt, mixing until combined, then beat in vanilla extract and shredded coconut.
Frost cake and top with chopped pecans. Slice, serve and enjoy!