Recipe of the Week
By Mary Kay Radnich

Italian Cream Cake

Try this very special dessert for your New Year's Eve Party!

• Cream Cheese Icing ( see recipe below)
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light butter
• 2 large 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 large egg whites (at room temperature)
• Lemon rind (optional)

Directions
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

1. Prepare Cream Cheese Icing; cover and chill.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans), and line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust with flour; set aside.

4. 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 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.

5. 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 degrees 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; turn out onto wire racks. Peel off wax paper; let cool completely.

6. Place 1 cake layer on a plate. 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 layer. Spread remaining icing over sides and top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind, if desired.

• 1 1/2 teaspoons chilled light butter
• 1/2 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, chilled
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Estimated Total Time: 10 minutes