Italian cream cake

Toast the pecans at 350F for maybe eight minutes until fragrant, moving them around; the outside toasts first.

Butter and flour three eight inch pans, a tablespoon or two of flour each.

Whisk the all purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a large bowl.

Mix the butter and vegetable shortening until well combined.

Separate the six eggs, each white into a separate bowl first in case a yolk breaks.

Add the granulated sugar to the butter and shortening and mix on medium to medium high three minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down at least once.

Add the yolks one at a time, letting each mix in before the next.

Add the vanilla extract and almond extract, then scrape down.

With the mixer on its lowest setting add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, three additions of flour to two of buttermilk, and finish by hand with a spatula leaving only a couple of streaks.

Whip the six egg whites in a clean bowl with a clean whisk to stiff peaks that stick to the beater.

Chop the cooled toasted pecans to a medium chop.

Lighten the batter with a third of the egg whites, folding even though bubbles burst, then fold the rest in in two batches, scraping the bottom and cutting down in a figure eight.

Fold in one cup of the chopped pecans and one cup of sweetened coconut flakes, just to distribute them.

Divide the batter evenly between the three pans, about a kilo each, and level the tops.

Fit cake strips if using and bake at 350F about half an hour, until the edges pull away from the pan and the centre springs back.

Rest the layers in the pans 15 minutes.

Run a little knife round the edge, tap the side of the pan and turn the layer out; cool completely.

Break up the coconut for the top, spread it out and toast at 350F about five minutes, shifting it every few minutes so it colours uniformly golden brown.

Cream the room temperature unsalted butter and the cream cheese in the mixing bowl with the paddle until homogenous, with the vanilla, on medium-low so as not to beat in air.

Add the powdered sugar in batches on low, going low and slow for a silky frosting rather than a bubbly one.

Spread a dollop of frosting on the board as glue and centre the first layer on it.

Spread about a quarter to a third of a cup of frosting between each layer and build the cake.

Scoop frosting on top and work it out and down the sides for a base coat; it need not be perfectly smooth.

Finish the sides with a bench scraper and the top with the offset spatula, pulling in as you turn slowly and wiping the blade between strokes.

Cover the top with the toasted coconut.

Press the rest of the chopped toasted pecans round the bottom edge as a skirt, with a few pieces higher up for a gradient.

Pipe the remaining frosting in dollops on top with a star tip.