Ingredients:

• Cream Cheese Icing:
• 1 tbsp – light Butter (do not soften)
• 250 g – package Cream cheese
• 250 g – powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp – vanilla extract
• For the Cake:
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1/2 cup – light butter, softened
• 2 cups – Sugar
• 2 – Egg yolks
• 2 cups – all purpose flour
• 1 tsp – baking soda
• 1 cup – low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup – chopped Pecans
• 1 tsp – Butter extract
• 1 tsp – Coconut extract
• 1 tsp – vanilla extract
• 6 – Egg whites
• Lemon rind strips (optional)

Method:

1. Prepare cream cheese icing:
2. Beat butter and cheese at high speed of an electric mixer, until fluffy.
3. Gradually, add sugar, and beat at low speed until blended.
4. Add vanilla; beat well.
5. Cover, and chill.
6. Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms of cake pans with wax paper.
7. Coat wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with flour; set aside.
8. Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until butter is creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well.
9. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
10. Combine 2 cups flour and baking soda; stir well.
11. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
12. Stir in pecans and next 3 ingredients.
13. Beat egg whites at high speed of mixer, until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat).
14. Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into prepared pans.
15. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes.
16. Cool in pans 5 minutes on wire racks.
17. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow metal spatula, and turn out onto wire racks.
18. Peel off wax paper, and cool completely.
19. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate, and spread with 2/3 cup cream cheese icing; top with second cake layer.
20. Repeat with 2/3 cup icing and third cake layer.
21. Spread remaining icing over cake.
22. Garnish with lemon rind strips, if desired.