Are you sleepy right now? Do you need a jolt to wake up? How’s a massive sugar high sound? Really? Okay, well Julie and the rest of the PW Wednesday group has got something for you. This. Billie’s Italian Creme Cake.

Oh. Man. I have never felt like I should go run a marathon more than I do now. Not that I could run a marathon because my back would inevitably retaliate in excruciating ways, but because I would need to run out all of that sugar slowing down my blood and giving me a wicked case of sugar-tummy.

And did I mention I couldn’t even finish my one piece of this cake? Billie, you can make a crazy cake woman.

In my meager attempts to healthify this cake – I substituted half of the oil in the cake with applesauce. For most cakes, cupcakes and baked goods you can do a switcharoo with half of the oil with sauce of the apple variety. It may not seem like much, but 100 calories for a 1/2 cup of regular applesauce is better than 900 calories in 1/2 cup of oil.

With the whipping of egg whites into submission I thought it would lead to a light and airy cake of sorts but after folding it into the rest of the cake I wasn’t sure if my folding skills failed me or if I hadn’t whipped the eggs into the necessary state of stiff they required. The cake was much denser than I thought’d be, but not necessarily in a bad way – just wasn’t what I’d expected.

When it came to the frosting – it was in all manner of speaking, over the top. A basic cream cheese frosting was apparently not good enough for this, adding to it an extra pound of sugar for good measure. Or that furry slipper feeling we all love so much. Are you seeing where the “run a full marathon and brush my teeth” thing is coming from now?

Instead of incorporating the coconut and nuts into the frosting and leaving it lumpy, I opted instead for toasting the coconut and pressing it to the outsides of the cake and sprinkling the nuts on top. Frosting the cake was  challenge itself with 2 pounds of sugar added it – there was no way to frost a cake with any grace with it that way. Having added about a 1/4 cup of milk to it was the only way to make it thin enough to frost a cake without ripping it to shreds. Heresy in cake decorating! Ripping it to shreds I mean with a frosting too thick. Cream cheese frosting is always a good idea.

All in all, I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. Tasty – as per usual with any Ree-Dee recipe. Fattening, would you expect anything less? Will I be running that marathon? Of course. And is it laden with coconut and heaven? Yup a roo! So, this one may not have knocked it out of the park – but it sure wasn’t a bad way to end my day.

Check out the other lovely ladies of PW Wednesday and see how they faired. Now – to brush my furry slipper teeth.

Julie – Table for Two <— Full Recipe Here!

Gina – Running to the Kitchen

Rachel – Baked by Rachel

Try these other PW Wednesday recipes –

Fried Chicken Tacos

Mushroom Sliders and Fry Sauce

Carnitas Pizza

Breakfast Pizza

White Chicken Enchiladas