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Italian cream cake, also called Italian wedding cake, is a fabulously moist cake with flavors of coconut, pecans, and almond. It’s slathered with cream cheese frosting, and all the flavors come together beautifully. (soy-free and gluten-free options)
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Italian wedding cake is normally much more decadent, with a cream cheese buttercream frosting with tons of sugar. I converted it into a lighter, vegan version.
Traditionally, Italian cream cake is supposed to be dense, but I aimed for a texture that’s still moist and fudgy, but with a little airiness. For the cream cheese frosting, I kept it less sweet, but you can always add more sugar if you prefer.
This cake it absolutely delicious and perfect for special occasions! It’s moist and fluffy with a rich texture and tangy, sweet cream cheese frosting. The toasted coconut and pecan toppings add texture and an incredible flavor.
The cake comes together quickly with everyday ingredients. If you don’t have almond extract, you can omit it. There’s still plenty of flavor without it!
Why You’ll Love Italian Wedding Cake
- lightened up version of the traditional recipe, but still moist and decadent-tasting
- delicious combination of textures and flavors – fluffy cake, creamy frosting, and toasty coconut and pecans on top
- easy to make with everyday ingredients
- easy to make gluten-free and soy-free
More Cakes!
Italian Cream Cake (Italian Wedding Cake)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vinegar, rice vinegar or white vinegar
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla powder
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream, or non-dairy yogurt
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup finely shredded coconut
- ½ cup raw pecans, chopped, measure first, then chop
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla powder, or more, to taste
- a few drops almond extract, optional
Topping
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
- 3 tablespoons large shred coconut, or more, to taste
Instructions
Make the cake.
- Make the buttermilk by mixing non-dairy milk with the vinegar in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Depending on your milk, it may curdle a lot or just slightly. It’s fine either way. Add the oil, coconut cream or yogurt, almond extract, and vanilla to the bowl, then set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until well combined. Add half of the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold them in gently. Then, add the rest of the wet mixture and fold in again until there is none of the milky mixture remaining and there are no dry flour clumps. The batter will be slightly thicker than regular cake batter, more like muffin batter. If it’s too thick, you can add up to 3 teaspoons of non-dairy milk. If it’s too thin, add about a tablespoon of flour. Whether you need to make adjustments will depend on how you measured your ingredients, the brand of flour you used, etc.
- Line an 8×8” or 9” round cake pan with parchment paper or grease it really well, and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Pour in the batter, spread it evenly, and tap the pan to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes, then test with a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Otherwise, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove and transfer it to a serving plate.
Meanwhile, prep the cream cheese frosting and toppings.
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, vegan butter, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract. Whip until fluffy with your spatula, incorporating some air, until the butter is well combined. Taste and adjust the flavor. Add powdered sugar, if you prefer it sweeter, and sugar and more butter if you want it less tangy.
- Heat a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pecans and toast them for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove them from the skillet and chop, then toast the coconut in the same skillet for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring every 15 to 30 seconds, until it starts turning golden. It browns quickly, so watch it closely. Set both of these aside to cool in separate bowls.
Assemble the Italian wedding cake.
- Once the cake is completely cool, frost with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with toasted pecans and coconut. Optionally, frost the sides and press extra coconut onto the sides for a prettier finish.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- vegan buttermilk – We are curdling our own vegan buttermilk by combining non-dairy milk with a little bit of rice vinegar or white vinegar. Make sure the milk is soy-free, if needed.
- extracts – Vanilla extract and almond extract add flavor to the cake and frosting. If you don’t have almond extract, you can omit it.
- dry ingredients – The vegan buttermilk and extracts are the cake wet ingredients. For the dry ingredients, you need flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, finely shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and salt. For a gluten-free version, replace the flour with a mix of almond flour, oat flour, and tapioca starch or potato starch. If you are making the gluten-free cake, also replace 1/4 cup of the non-dairy milk with club soda.
- cream cheese frosting – This is a mix of vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Make sure that the cream cheese and butter are soy-free, if needed.
- toppings – We are going to toast up some chopped pecans and large shred coconut for topping.
💡Tips
- For the best results, don’t scoop the flour into your measuring cup. Spoon it in, then use a knife to flatten the top.
- You want the cake batter to have the texture of muffin batter. If it’s too thick, thin it out with a little non-dairy milk. Too thin? Add more flour.
- If you don’t line your cake pan with parchment, be sure to grease it really well, so the cake releases easily.
How to Make Italian Cream Cake
Make the buttermilk by mixing non-dairy milk with the vinegar in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Depending on your milk, it may curdle a lot or just slightly. It’s fine either way. Add the oil, coconut cream or yogurt, almond extract, and vanilla to the bowl, then set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until well combined.
Add half of the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold them in gently. Then, add the rest of the wet mixture and fold in again until there is none of the milky mixture remaining and there are no dry flour clumps. The batter will be slightly thicker than regular cake batter, more like muffin batter. If it’s too thick, you can add up to 3 teaspoons of non-dairy milk. If it’s too thin, add about a tablespoon of flour. Whether you need to make adjustments will depend on how you measured your ingredients, the brand of flour you used, etc.
Line an 8×8” or 9” round cake pan with parchment paper or grease it really well, and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Pour in the batter, spread it evenly, and tap the pan to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes, then test with a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Otherwise, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove and transfer it to a serving plate.
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, vegan butter, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whip until fluffy with your spatula, incorporating some air, until the butter is well combined. Taste and adjust the flavor. Add powdered sugar, if you prefer it sweeter, and sugar and more butter if you want it less tangy.
Heat a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pecans and toast them for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove them from the skillet and chop. Then toast the coconut in the same skillet for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring every 15 to 30 seconds, until it starts turning golden. It browns quickly, so watch it closely. Set both of these aside to cool in separate bowls.
Once the cake is completely cool, frost with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
Sprinkle with toasted pecans and coconut. Optionally, frost the sides and press extra coconut onto the sides for a prettier finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Italian wedding cake is soy-free, as long as you use soy-free vegan milk, cream cheese and butter. It does contain nuts.
If the cake edges feel a little dry on the edges/slightly overbaked, mix 2 teaspoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water and brush that all over the cake before frosting to re-moisten it. Even if it’s not dry, you can do this to have a super moist cake.
The cake will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, stored in a closed container, or slice and freeze the slices for a couple of months. Always serve at room temperature.
Let the refrigerated cake sit out for 30 minutes, or microwave in short bursts to defrost. If you froze it, thaw it on the kitchen counter, then microwave in short bursts to bring it to room temperature and gets soft and moist.
