# Italian Cream Cake



## baker63 (Nov 28, 2006)

I have been given a recipe by our new foodservice director and it is his favorite cake that his bakers used to make. I made it and he was happy. It is made into a sheet cake, but recently we were asked to bake as a round cake so I, to be efficient baked a thicker cake to be split in two layers. The cakes baked 17 min longer and the nuts and coconut sank to the bottom. Here is what I did today to stop this:

Switched from Cake to Bread flour. Still sunk

whiped in some of the sugar with the egg whites and beat stiff they still sunk

added 10% more flour and they still sunk

baking soda and mixing process are correct.

Here is what I am thinking at this point. I think that I am going to chop the nuts smaller and if that doesn't work than I will toss the nuts in flour.

I cannot change the recipe as he likes the flavor and I have tweeked it as far at I can tweek it.

Now my other thought is that this cake needs to be a sheet cake, baked in thinner layers so that the batter sets more quickly and that it shouldn't be baked as a deep cake.

Oh one more thing maybe I will raise the oven temp 25 degrees,

Of course only one change at a time.

My question is am I missing anything?

Here is a recipe that is very similar to the one I use. Have any of you run into this? Thanks in advance.

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
5 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups cake flour (pref. soft as silk cake flour if you can get it)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 can coconut (small, do not know how many ounces. This is all that the recipe gives)
1 cup chopped pecans


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## kayakado (Sep 25, 2003)

why not bake it in 4 round pans instead of two and bake thinner layers?? I can't remember the name of the cake but there is a 12 layer cake from the Chesepeake Bay area that is baked in thin layers.


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## chef amari (Jul 19, 2009)

To solve the problem with the nuts sinking to the bottom of the cake you need to substitute the oil with Crisco Shortening (don't melt it ) and mix the batter longer so it will be very thick and fluffy. Don't add the chopped nuts until just before putting it in your pan. 
Mix in the nuts with a wooden spoon . This should do the trick as oil makes your cake batter thinner and allows anything heavy to sink.
:chef:


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