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Italian Cream Cake If you have never tried that old Southern favorite, Italian Cream Cake, then you do not know what you are missing. Or maybe you do: 511 calories a slice and enough cholesterol to clog the Lincoln Tunnel. Just consider what a traditional Italian Cream Cake contains: an entire stick of butter, five eggs, a cup of buttermilk, plus coconut and pecans. And that does not include the frosting, which calls for cream cheese and even more butter. Wouldn't it be loverly if there were a lightened Italian Cream Cake, one that tasted just as rich and creamy as the original-- in the words of Coffee Talk's Linda Richman, "like buttah"? Well, alert the media and all ships at sea—we've done just that and more. We've created what we think is our best-tasting cake ever, and about the simplest to make. Except for rhythm and sweet dreams, who could ask for anything more? The only difficult part about this dessert is trying to figure out why it's called Italian Cream Cake when it doesn't appear to be from Italy. But then, are Brussels sprouts from Belgium, turkeys from Turkey, ice from Iceland? You've gotta wonder. How We Did It Went from 5 eggs to 2 whole eggs and 6 egg whites. Substituted 1/2 cup light butter for the 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup shortening. Omitted coconut but kept the flavor by adding coconut extract. Used low-fat buttermilk in place of regular. Cut the amount of pecans in half. To lighten the icing, we used Neufchatel cheese, which has one-third less fat than cream cheese, and cut down a bit on the amount. Reduced the amount of butter and opted for the light variety. Italian Cream Cake Cream Cheese Icing Vegetable cooking spray 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup light butter 2 egg yolks 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup low-fat buttermilk 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 teaspoon butter extract 1 teaspoon coconut extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 egg whites (at room temperature) Sugared kumquats (optional) Orange rind strips (optional) Kumquat leaves (optional) Prepare Cream Cheese Icing; cover and chill. Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with flour; set aside. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine 2 cups flour and baking soda; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans and extracts. Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow metal spatula, and turn out onto wire racks. Peel off wax paper, and let cool completely. Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with 2/3 cup Cream Cheese Icing; top with another cake layer. Repeat with 2/3 cup icing and remaining layer, ending with cake. Spread remaining icing over cake. Garnish with kumquats, orange rind, and kumquat leaves, if desired. Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice). Note: To make sugared kumquats, dip kumquats into lightly beaten egg white, and drain; roll in sugar. CALORIES 300 (24% from fat); PROTEIN 4.5g; FAT 8g (sat 3.7g, mono 1.5g, poly 0.6g); CARB 53.8g; FIBER 0.5g; CHOL 39mg; IRON 0.7mg; SODIUM 166mg; CALC 28mg Cream Cheese Icing: 1 tablespoon light butter 1 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel cheese 1 (1-pound) package powdered sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Cream butter and cheese at high speed of a mixer until fluffy. Add sugar; beat at low speed until well-blended. Add vanilla; beat well. Yield 2-2/3 cups. Holly Berkowitz Clegg is the author of A Trim and Terrific Louisiana Kitchen. |
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