I'm trying to get my gears going for my daughter's third b-day cake for tomorrow. I have the Wilton castle set and she's pretty excited about it so that's what I want to do. Strawberries were on sale so I bought several cartons of them and they are my kiddo's fav fruit so I want to include them in the cake.

Questions:
1) If I just use a strawberry box mix will it be strong enough to stand up to the stacking and hold turrets etc? I usually go with Duncan Hines...is this a good one or do you recommend Pillsbury?

2) If I layer fresh strawberry slices inside the cakes will it still be durable enough?

3) What on Earth should I frost with? I need to do something tasty that goes well with the strawberry flavor but it also has to be something that I can easily get a smooth look out of and attach my royal icing flowers & castle windows to.

I realllly appreciate any help you can offer! Thanks!

Edit: After reviewing my post...maybe I'm asking too much here. Is this impossible...to get a cake that is both tasty and attractive?

I made a castle cake, my very first cake ever, and I resorted to Wilton fondant at the last minute because I hadnt yet learned to smooth the icing. It looked good to us, but it tasted awful. I also used strawberry box mix and it was good. I'd add the extra egg and a box of pudding too though.

I think the sliced berries in the center would be fine and I'd use a buttercream frosting, with or without fondant.