Best Italian Cream Cake

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease 3-9 inch diameter cake pans with vegetable shortening and dust them with flour.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk or sift until the dry ingredients are uniformly mixed.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter-sugar mixture beating them into the mixture before adding another. Add the extracts and mix these in well.
4. Add the vinegar to the heavy cream and stir this together well. Add a portion of the flour mixture to the creamed sugar-egg mixture and beat this in until well mixed. Add a portion of the cream vinegar mixture to help this process.
5. Add another portion of the dry ingredients, mix it in, and add some more vinegar-cream to help. Repeat these steps until all the wet and dry components are mixed to form the cake batter. Finally, add 1/2 of the coconut and 1/2 of the pecan pieces to the batter and mix them until all is uniform.
6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the 3 cake pans and bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Place the pans on a wire rack to cool while you toast your coconut and make the frosting.

   Toasting Shredded Coconut:

8. Place the 1/2 of the shredded coconut reserved for the frosting on a baking sheet and spread it out evenly.
9. Place the sheet in the oven at 350 F for 8 to 12 minutes. Stir the coconut every 2 or 3 minutes to promote even browning. Remove the coconut from the oven when it has achieved an even cinnamon-colored brown.

   Making the frosting:

10. Cream the cream cheese, and butter together until smooth. Add the extracts and beat these in until uniform.
11. Add the sugar in small portions while beating until the frosting is smooth. Repeat this step until all the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is creamy and smooth. You can add a tablespoon of cream or milk if the frosting becomes too thick, but beware of adding too much liquid.
12. Frost the top of the bottom layer and sprinkle with 1 or 2 teaspoons of toasted coconut, and a teaspoon of pecan pieces.
13. Place the next layer on top and repeat this process. Place the third layer and frost the top and sides of all layers.
14. Finally, press toasted coconut on to the sides and top of the cake and sprinkle the remaining pecan pieces over the top.
15. Store the cake in the refrigerator until serving time, this will tighten up the frosting.