Walnut Overload, Four Layer Italian Cream Cake

Yummy! This beautiful cake is a family favorite and a sure crowd pleaser... it won't last long. (Please note that I use Bertolli Extra Light "Tasting" olive oil for the mild flavor and health benefits... any oil can be substituted. Don’t use extra virgin olive oil!) As an option, you can make two, two layer cakes.

• Ready In: 1 hr 40 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 1 cake

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
• 2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 10  ounces flaked coconut (about 3 cups)
• 3  cups walnuts, broken into large pieces

• Icing Ingredients

• 16  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2  lbs powdered sugar
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 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 and baking soda: add to creamed mixture, alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, coconut, and walnuts. Stiffly beat egg whites in separate bowl and immediately fold into cake batter. 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.
4. Bake at 300°F (149°C) until toothpick comes out clean (for around 50-55 minutes).
5. Cream Cheese Icing Directions:
6. Beat cream cheese until smooth. In separate bowl, combine sugar, very soft butter and vanilla; mix well. Add to cream cheese and beat until smooth. 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.
7. Store in refrigerator. With all the walnuts, it cuts easiest with a bread knife. Enjoy!