BS Recipes: Italian Cream Cake

We were celebrating the fact that I graduated from college and I wanted to make the perfect dessert! My mom suggested this one and it has become one of my new favorite desserts! I absolutely love everything about this: coconut, pecans, frosting...

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup crisco
1 cup sugar
5 eggs, yolk and whites separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut

Ingredients for Frosting
1 - 8 ounce cream cheese softened
1/2 stick butter
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line three cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter, crisco, and sugar.
3. Add the 5 yolks one at a time (save the egg whites for later use).
4. Mix together the flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk; alternating between the two until everything is well incorporated.
5. Add the vanilla , chopped nuts, and coconut.
6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the dough mixture.

7. Bake for 30 minutes (do not over bake). Cool and frost.

Directions for Frosting
1. Cream together butter and cream cheese,
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar; mixing until everything is nice and smooth. Add the vanilla.

ALTERNATIVE TO A NORMAL CAKE
When my sister was in town, she told me of this outstanding idea she had! She taught me a simple way to make individual cakes and boy was it the best idea EVER! I couldn't wait to share it with you! Rather than baking the cakes in 9-inch rounds, you bake the cake on a cookie sheet for a shorter time. Once the cake is done you let it cool like normal. Then you cut out pieces of cake with a cookie cutter.