Italian Cream Cake

Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• 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)

Preparation

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° 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.

Note: To make sugared kumquats, dip kumquats into lightly beaten egg whites, and drain; roll in sugar.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

300 (24% from fat)

Fat:

8g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

4.5g

Carbohydrate:

53.8g

Fiber:

0.5g

Cholesterol:

39mg

Iron:

0.7mg

Sodium:

166mg

Calcium:

28mg