Italian Creme Cake
A moist, light cake full of rich coconut and cherries- a family tradition now gluten free. And still absolutely irresistible.
Ever since I can remember, my mom, my little sister Bella and I would make an Italian creme cake for my dad's birthday. This is his favorite cake and he requests it every year. This was his first birthday, though, that Bella and I are on a gluten free diet. Which means we cannot eat the divine gluten based cake. So, we tried it gluten free with a few adjustments needed to help structure, texture, taste, etc.
And the result was fabulous.
This gluten free version of a traditional Italian Creme Cake is so amazingly darn good. Honestly, if you were to serve this at a dinner party, people would think you tricked them; the fact that there is no gluten is so undetectable it's hard to believe. I even doubted our own baking while taking bite after bite of this divine gf cake.
If you're looking for a cake recipe that is a little more advanced, this is perfect. It's not that hard (just time consuming), but it's definitley a step up from a simple vanilla cake.
If you're wondering why this is a family tradition because I am not at all the slightest bit Italian... I have no idea.
One of the best parts about this cake is how many different textures it has. You have the soft, moist cake, chewy, sweet coconut, crunchy pecans, creamy frosting...
I am almost drooling right now.
I love to make cakes and cupcakes and this was definitely a fun and unique one. It was also fun to eat- a.k.a dangerously addictive.
If only we'd made more cake... I still haven't eaten breakfast. ;)
Italian Creme Cake
Ingredients:
Cake:
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup canola oil minus 2 tbsp
1 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice (don't use syrup)
(a little less than) 1 cup buttermilk
2 cups gluten free ATK flour blend
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups coconut flakes
Frosting:
(recipe courtesy Emily Reigh)
1 stick butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups pecans, broken and toasted (350 degrees F ~ 10 min.)
Instructions:
Cake:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream shortening and oil together. Add sugar and vanilla, mixing until even consistency. Add egg yolks one at a time, creaming after each is added.
In a small bowl mix the cherry juice and buttermilk together.
In a medium bowl, mix together the gf flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum.
Add half of the cherry and milk mixture to the creamed mixture and then add half of dry ingredients; repeat with other half.
Add the coconut and fold it in.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into the mixture.
Let mixture set for 20 minutes, then mix a few times with rubber spatula.
While mixture is setting, grease two layer pans, then place down parchment and grease again.
Divide mixture between the two pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cake cool completely before frosting it.
Frosting:
Mix butterand cream cheese together until creamed. Then add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until light and creamy
(frosting is not my recipe)
