Italian Cream Cake is the perfect tender vanilla cake with pecans, almond extract, and rich cream cheese frosting.
This delicious homemade cake is perfect for a variety of occasions and surprisingly easy to make. For more decadent Cake Recipes that are sure to wow your family and friends, try these recipes for Classic Coconut Cake and Red Velvet Cake next.
Sabrina’s Italian Cream Cake
Although it’s called Italian Cream Cake, this is not an authentic Italian dessert. The tasty cake has its roots in Southern states, though it’s hard to trace exactly where it came from or how it got its name. Regardless, it’s a fantastic cake with dreamy cream cheese frosting that you’re sure to love.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Italian Cream Cake:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup whole milk , room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecans , very finely chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 24 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 1/2 cups powdered sugar
To finish:
- 1 cup pecans , very finely chopped
- 6 ounces white chocolate bar , thinly shaved
Instructions
Vanilla Pecan Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside.
- To your stand mixer add the butter and sugar and beat them together until light and fluffy on medium speed, 2-3 minutes, then add in the eggs one at a time 15 seconds apart along with the vanilla and almond extract then lower the speed to low. Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating a little of each at a time.
- Stir in the pecans.
- Pour into the cake pans evenly and baked for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cakes completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the cream cheese, butter, sour cream almond extract, and vanilla to a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until smooth and incorporated.
To Finish:
- To your cake stand add a spoonful of cream cheese frosting.
- Level the cakes with a large serrated knife and discard the cake pieces.
- Brush off excess crumbs.
- Add the first layer of the cake to the cake stand.
- Top with 1 cup of cream cheese frosting, spread evenly.
- Top with second layer of cake.
- Top with 1 cup of cream cheese frosting, spread evenly.
- Add 1 cup of cream cheese frosting, coating the outside of the cake.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow to harden.
- Frost the cake with half the remaining cream cheese frosting.
- Press the 2 cups of pecans up against the side of the cake coming up halfway on the sides of the cake.
- Pipe swirly mounds onto the top of the cake.
- Top with shaved white chocolate.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Table of contents
About this Recipe
A lot of the ingredients in this recipe are similar to a Classic Vanilla Cake. However, the addition of pecans in the batter adds a nice crunch and aromatic, nutty flavor to the rich cake. After baking, you’ll finish the layer cake with tart Cream Cheese Frosting, another layer of pecans, and white chocolate decorations. The end result is a beautiful, buttery, flavorful cake.
The beautiful frosting and garnishes make this Italian Cream Cake recipe the perfect dessert for a special occasion. It’s an ideal centerpiece for birthdays, holiday parties, or any get-together that you want to make extra special. Serve it as the perfect dessert after enjoying Heart Shaped Pizza with your guests.
Ingredients
- Butter: Make sure that you give the unsalted butter time to come to room temperature before you use it. Softened butter can cream with white sugar and blend into a light, fluffy consistency. If you try to use butter straight from the fridge, it will result in a dense cake.
- Milk: Using whole milk as the base liquid ingredient makes a rich, moist cake recipe.
- Flour: While you can use all-purpose flour, cake flour is a better option to get a perfectly fluffy cake recipe. Cake flour is ground more finely, resulting in a light, airy crumb. It also has less protein than all-purpose flour. The protein-dense flour would create a chewier consistency.
- Cream Cheese: As with the butter in the batter, you need softened butter and softened cream cheese for the cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese creates the perfect thick, creamy consistency for the frosting. It also has a sharp, tangy flavor that contrasts with the sweet cake and sweet ingredients in the frosting.
- Sour Cream: Adding 3 tablespoons of sour cream makes the frosting even richer and creamier without thickening it further.
- Powdered Sugar: You want to use powdered sugar for most frosting and icing recipes. The sugar is ground more finely, therefore it creates an airy, fluffy texture that’s perfect for the sweet topping.
- Pecans: The pecans act as a crunchy addition to the cake batter and as a decoration layered outside the cake. Along with adding some texture to the fluffy cake, the pecans also bring in a delicious and rich flavor. The combination of warm flavor from the pecans and vanilla extract makes this cake delightful.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave Italian Cream Cake out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: To keep the cake recipe fresh, cover it in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container. Because of the cream cheese frosting, you’ll need to refrigerate the cake. It will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: You can also freeze the cake for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can intensify the flavor of the pecans by toasting them before chopping them and adding them to the cake. To toast the pecans preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the cup of pecans in a tablespoon of olive oil. Then lay them on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Pop the baking sheet in the oven and toast the pecans for 7-10 minutes. Stir them occasionally throughout the cooking time so that they toast evenly. Then remove the pecans from the oven, let them cool and then chop them.
This recipe is basically a traditional vanilla cake with pecans baked in. Cream cakes are usually topped with whipped cream frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting as I used in this recipe. Despite the name, it’s not actually an Italian dessert.
This cake has a rich vanilla, butter pecan flavor. The tart cream cheese frosting adds a nice contrast to the more rich, sweet flavors of the cake.
Variations
- Coconut Cake: Shredded coconut makes a delicious addition to this cream cake recipe. You can mix shredded coconut into the cake batter at the same time you add the pecans, and toasted coconut makes a beautiful decorative cake topping.
- Nuts: If you prefer different nuts, you can make this cake recipe with chopped almonds, walnuts, or cashews to replace the pecans. You could also use a mix of nuts instead of choosing just one.
- Gluten-Free Cake: If anyone you’re serving has a gluten intolerance, you can make this recipe without any gluten in it. To make the recipe gluten-free, swap out the regular white flour for coconut flour, almond flour, or another gluten-free alternative.
- Flavor Additions: You can add extra flavor ingredients like almond extract or a spritz of lemon juice to the cake batter. Give the cake a boozy finish by mixing in a splash of amaretto liqueur.
- Decorations: You can also add different toppings to decorate the cake. Instead of white chocolate, try adding shaved milk or dark chocolate. You could also top the cake with large grain sanding sugar or a dusting of cocoa powder. Or, add sprinkles if you’re making your Italian Cream Cake into a birthday cake recipe.
Related Recipes
More Amazing Pecan Desserts
Photos used in previous versions of the post:
What size decorating tip did you use on your finished cake?
Most likely the Wilton 1M tip. It’s one of the larger tips. Enjoy!
In the ingredient list for the cake and icing you have almond and vanilla extract listed but in the instructions it only mentions vanilla extract. Should I use both or just the vanilla?
Thank you, Patty
Hi Patty,
If you haven’t made this cake already, please add the almond extract to the cake batter. I have made the changes to the recipe card and appreciate you taking the time to let me know about this typo!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy the cake!
This Italian cream cake is so pretty and delicious! Perfect for any occasion. I’ll surely have this again. Thanks for this wonderful recipe Sabrina! Highly recommended!
Made this on my birthday and it was one of the best cakes I’ve tried. It is so easy to make and turned out to be beautiful and delicious. Must try!