Walnut Overload, Dark Chocolate & Coconut Cake

A four layer, dark cocoa, walnuts & coconut cake with the smoothest chocolate cream cheese icing you've ever tasted. ------ My wife made this recipe by combining my Italian Cream Cake recipe with the chocolate cake recipe off the back of the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa can. In addition to cocoa, she added butter and Cool Whip to the frosting... resulting in a uniquely creamy icing. The resulting combo is the best chocolate cake I've ever had. ------ With all the walnuts and coconut, best to use a serrated edge knife to cut it.

• Ready In: 1 hr 25 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 24 slices

Ingredients

• Cake Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1⁄2 cup  bertolli extra light tasting olive oil
• 2  cups sugar
• 5  large eggs, separated
• 1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup  hershey's special  dark cocoa
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 10  ounces flaked coconut (about 3 cups)
• 3  cups walnuts, broken into large pieces
• 1  cup boiling water

• Icing Ingredients

• 16  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2  lbs powdered sugar (about 5 cups powdered sugar)
• 2⁄3 cup  hershey's special  dark cocoa
• 6  tablespoons  whole milk
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 cup  whipped topping
• 2 1⁄4 cups  chopped walnuts
• 4  ounces flaked coconut (about 1.5 cups)

Directions

1. Cake Directions:.
2. Cream butter and oil. Add sugar, beat until mixture is smooth. Add egg yolks and beat.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda: add to creamed mixture, alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, coconut, and walnuts.
4. Add 1 cup boiling water ( stir).
5. Then Stiffly beat egg whites in separate bowl and immediately fold into cake batter.
6. Pour batter into four(4) well-greased 9 inch round baking pans and pat chunky mixture to where it is thicker toward the edges of the pans.
7. Bake at 300°F (149°C) until toothpick comes out clean (for around 50-55 minutes).
8. Cream Cheese Icing Directions:.
9. Beat cream cheese until smooth.
10. In separate bowl, combine sugar, very soft butter and vanilla,cocoa, whole milk ; mix well. Add whipping topping mix well.
11. Add to cream cheese and beat until smooth. ( If icing is too soft, add a bit more cocoa and sugar powder. If icing is too hard, add more whipped topping. Be careful when adding whipped topping. ).
12. Cool each layer on cake racks. Put a dollop of icing on a large (12") plate before the first layer. Top each layer first with an ample amount of icing and then sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Frost sides with ample icing and then make a 1 inch icing skirt with remainder. (If icing is too thin to stay on the sided of the layers, cool both cake and icing in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and try again.) Pat small amounts of the coconut into the sides and a little will naturally fall onto the skirt. Sprinkle the skirt with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.
13. Store in refrigerator. With all the walnuts, it cuts easiest with a bread knife. Enjoy.