ADoes anyone have a good Italian Cream (aka wedding cake) recipe? I've only tried one recipe that I got off google and where everyone said it was good leaving no crumbs behind, I was still told that it was much different than a traditional, old fashion Italian cream cake. I've been asked to make one for my grandmother's birthday in a couple weeks...can anyone help?

AMaybe you need more details about what a 'traditional, old-fashioned' Italian cream cake is supposed to be. Did your critics offer any suggestions as to how it's supposed to taste or what the right texture should be?

AI just thought of something and found a link to confirm what I was thinking. I think here in the States we think of it as a cake with coconut and pecans, but I was also thinking that it could be a basic genoise soaked in liqueur and filled with pastry cream, which would make a real cream cake (maybe that is what the person was expecting). I am no expert on Italian desserts, but I don't think what we traditionally call an Italian cream cake here is the same thing in Italy. Italians use hazelnuts and almonds judiciously in their desserts, and pecans are native to North America. Check out this link:

http://www.experiencesardinia.com/italian-cream-cake.html

I still think you need to clarify what kind of cake the person is expecting, then you can go from there.

AI tried a recipe called aunt toms Italian creme cake (google) and it was delish! Very moist and fluffy because of the egg whites and taste amazing. Iced with a scratch cream cheese frosting hits the spot. It taste better refrigerated which it needs that anyway being that its a cream cheese frosting. Hth

A@Annie - the liqueur soaked cake with pastry cream filling is typically called Rum Cake or Italian Rum Cake on the East Coast. It's my favorite cake and I had that as my wedding cake and we used the same Italian bakery that my parents did in 1957, also a rum cake. I think it was the 'traditional' Italian American wedding cake back in the 50s. The frosting is typically a whipped cream type. Like you said - an Italian Cream Cake is something completely different that I first heard of when I lived in TX. Don't think I've ever seen it on the East Coast. Can't help with a recipe for that but I did once find an incredibly labor intensive recipe for an Italian Rum Cake if that's what the OP is looking for but I'm thinking probably not.

Yep, it's also similar to a cassata cake, but that has the addition of fruit.  And I've seen some cassata recipes with a ricotta filling, but typically it's filled with pastry cream.

I love my recipe for Italian cream cake and I got it from foodnetwork.com Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2002

It's called Italian Cream Cake (From Beth Lott's Mom)

Love It.

Candace

I came across this thread and just had to share certain myths about exactly what is an traditional Italian cream cake.

@still_learning and @Annie are both right...

@t2000al A traditional Italian cream cake is a fatless sponge cake divided usually into two layers although I do prefer three layers, soaked with some kind of liqueur,usually rum but alchermes is another favorite,  filled with a homemade pastry cream, and covered with whipping cream which more often than not is a vegetable base cream.

Looking around the internet to see how others were interpreting as a classic Italian cream cake, I found many cakes that were made up of a simple sponge coated in cream cheese and even using coconut.

Well in all my 20 years of living in Sardinia Italy and also running my own pasticceria I have never come across any cake covered in cream cheese and coconut and never been asked to make one.

So if this is a real authentic Italian cream cake I have no idea from which part of Italy it could come from.

Hey thanks for your reply!  So how did you find us here?  You must have seen my link to your website.  :)

When you say vegetable-based cream, I assume you mean a non-dairy whipped cream?  Is it like one of the commercial products you whip? 

I wonder why they choose to use a vegetable-based cream instead of real whipped cream.

@Annie

This is true I notice that someone had placed a  link to my page and was curious so I decided to join in.

Why the majority of Italian cake shops and when they are homemade use a vegetable based cream?

Vegetable cream is easier to find, it is UHT so it has a longer shelf life, the heat in summer also has an influence as fresh cream does not last as long.

I love fresh cream on my cakes and its funny that on the few occasions that I have used it to make my cakes up, the comments for the majority, not all, say that they prefer the veggie cream because it is sweeter.

I forgot about how hot it can get, so it makes sense to use the veggie cream.  I LOVE fresh cream though!  Yummy!  Thanks for posting on CC-come back soon with some delicious Italian recipes!!!

AYeah send me that recipe :D