Italian Cream Cake is today’s Happy Recipe.
If you are joining us for our Monthly Creative Blog Hop, welcome! Make sure to see the list of blogs at the end of my post.
Well, let’s get started with this delicious cake recipe.
So, you had me a cake.
Now add a luscious cream cheese pumpkin frosting and you have an unbelievable combo.
I always have cake cravings, and according to my auntie, desserts go to another place in your stomach so you always have room for it.
If by chance you missed my pumpkin bread recipe you need to make sure to check it out. And of course, there is this year’s Thanksgiving Tablescape!
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Photo: Mark Yamamoto
Growing up, I was my mother’s shadow in the kitchen. Since I was her only daughter, she invested a lot of time into molding me into a little version of her.
I remember when I was a young girl, I would beg her to bake with me.
So one day, she finally, mentioned that we would bake a cherry pie on George Washington’s birthday.
Well, you can imagine that I had the darndest time focusing on my school work that day.
After school, I raced home and my mom was waiting for me. I was so happy that she didn’t forget her promise.

Photo: Mark Yamamoto
So, there I was, side by side rolling out our pie crust, plopping the cherry filling in the pie.
And my goodness, I had the cutest pie tin. It was a small old vintage tin.
You know, you’ve seen them in antique shops, they are a dark-hued tin with a lot of bumps and dents.
Let me tell you, it made the cutest dessert. I was so proud of my adorable little pie.
I still remember every detail of that special day.

Photo: Mark Yamamoto
This was the beginning of many baking lessons with my mom, so you can see why my kitchen is my best friend.
So, when Pottery Barn asked me to publish a Thanksgiving dessert, I was tickled pink.
And what better recipe than my Italian Cream Cake which I paired with a luscious cream cheese pumpkin frosting.
My husband is my toughest food critic. And I’m happy to say this passed him with two thumbs up, if he had a third hand it would be three thumbs!
I hope you like this moist and yummy cake.

Photo: Mark Yamamoto
Italian Cream Cake with Pumpkin Frosting
Italian Cream Cake
Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 eggs (separate eggs)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
½ cup cooking oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped pecans
7 ounces of shredded coconut
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with wax paper and grease. Sprinkle flour and coat the entire inside of the pans.
- Mix buttermilk and baking soda together and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, separate eggs, and beat whites till stiff. Set aside
- Cream together butter, cooking oil and sugar.
- Add egg yolks one at a time to the cream butter mixture. Beat well after each addition.
- Mix flour and baking powder.
- To egg mixture, add an alternate buttermilk and flour mix.
- Next, add vanilla and salt to the cake batter.
- Fold in egg whites and stir in gently.
- Also gently fold in the pecans and coconut.
- Pour into prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 25 mins at 350 degrees in oven.
- Cool on a rack and remove wax paper.
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
4 cups powder sugar
16 ounces cream cheese
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
Directions
- Beat cream cheese and slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat in butter. Mix until smooth.
- Measure 1 ¾ cups of the frosting and add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin. Beat till smooth.
- Place bottom cake layer on a cake platter and frost the top with the pumpkin frosting. Place the second layer on top and finish frosting the rest of the cake with the plain cream cheese frosting.
- Slice and serve.
For More Pumpkin Recipes, Check Out:
- Copycat Starbuck’s Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Pumpkin Recipes Roundup
- Italian Cream Cake with a Twist of Pumpkin
Happy Thanksgiving to You and Your Family!
So, thanks for visiting and hope someday, you’ll enjoy a slice of my Italian Cream Cake during the holidays or for any occasion. Most of all, don’t miss out on the other wonderful Thanksgiving posts, there are some super talented bloggers who I have joined up with this year.
Cheers,
Welcome to our monthly Creative Blog Hop!
This month it’s all about Thanksgiving Projects and yummy Recipes where you’ll find lots of inspiration to keep you DIYing and nibbling for months!
Meet your hosts:
Carolanne @ Sassy Townhouse Living | Lynn @ Nourish and Nestle
Tara @ Lehman Lane | Sam @ Raggedy Bits
Sherry @ Savvy Apron | Katrin @ Kreativk
Janine @ Happy Happy Nester | Ashley @ Modern Glam
Sara @ Twelve On Main | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins
Michelle @ Our Crafty Mom
Kellie @ Gratefully Vintage
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Maggie says
I didn’t see the directions for adding butter to the frosting, should I assume it is creamer with the cream cheese?
happyhappynester says
Hi Maggie,
So sorry that the instructions were missing the butter. I just adjusted the directions. I hope you like the cake!