Help - I want to make a cake for this weekend and a fruit preserve filling would be perfect for the occasion. I'm a cake-carving virgin and a little nervous about the filling.

The cake should not be too difficult to carve - its a 8" round (5" high) cake with 6 layers. The shape will be tapered to 6" in the middle and tapering back out to 8" at the bottom.

I usually use a thick dam (aka Sugarshack method) to hold in the filling. When carving a cake do you just make the dam wider so when carving you are always cutting through the dam? Or should I just use a buttercream filling with preserves mixed in to avoid any fruit-oozing mishaps?

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated!

Frankly, the design you are describing i think i would carve the layers first then take apart and put the filling in then. JMO