Italian Cream Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
5 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (3 1/2 ounce) can coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
cream cheese, icing*

Preparation

Mix buttermilk and soda, let stand for a few minutes.
Cream together sugar, butter and shortening. Add egg yolks one at a time, beat well.
Add milk mix to flour mix, alternately, a little at a time.
Add vanilla, nuts and coconut. Beat well.
In a separate bowl, beat egg white until stiff. Carefully fold into batter.
Pour into well greased 9\" cake pans and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on racks. When cool frost with cream cheese icing*.
*Cream cheese icing:
Cream together 1 stick of butter and 8 oz. cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Add 1 pound of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla, beat well.