Italian Cream Bundt Cake

When in high school, I worked at a restaurant that served the most delicious Italian Cream Cake. I would pray the frosting would accidentally fall off the serving spatula onto my finger where I would be left with the only solution: to lick it off.

Although this recipe doesn't match up to the same cake I remember, it's still good and far prettier than the cake in my memories.

Italian Cream Bundt Cake

2 c. sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 c. coconut
5 eggs, separated
1 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 T baking powder
3/4 c. chopped walnuts

Cake Icing:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. coconut


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter with sugar and add vanilla. Then add the 5 egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: sifted flour, baking powder and soda.
Add dry ingredients to the mixture a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk (about 1/4 cup at a time)

Mix in walnuts and coconut

Gently fold in the egg whites.

Spoon then batter into a generously greased bundt pan.

Bake for about 60 minutes.

Let it cool for 20 minutes.

Icing:
With a hand blender, cream the cream cheese with the whipping cream. Add powdered sugar. Blend. Spoon the frosting into a quart-sized ziplock back. Snip of a small corner of the closed bag to use as a pastry bag. Drizzle lines of the frosting over the bundt cake. After the first layer, add the coconut and the chopped walnuts. Apply another layer of frosting.

Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. After of course, you look at how pretty it is.