Hi Everyone!! This is my first post after lurking for months

I have a wedding cake due tomorrow and the bride didn't make any specific request as far as fillings are concerned so what I do is totally up to me. I make a KILLER lemon curd and I'd love to use that with fresh strawberries to fill the second tier but the problem is the fridge is packed and there's no way I can get a three tiered cake in there. I want to completely decorate the cake tonight as I also have a birthday cake to finish and deliver tomorrow evening, so just putting the second tier in the fridge and assembling it tomorrow isn't an option.

I was wondering if I fill and decorate the cake, tonight and then leave it in my unheated pantry in front of an open window with the door closed will the filling keep. It's supposed to go down to 44 tonight but I'm not sure what the temp usually is in a fridge lol. I have to deliver it by 2pm tomorrow so I figure it'll be in there about 8 hours. Also, they aren't cutting the cake until about 6pm so it'll be out another 6 hours or so before its consumed. Is this too risky? Should I just go with a non-perishable filling just to be on the safe side?

TIA!!

Are you covering in fondant or just buttercream? I would think if covered with fondant it would be fine. If it was just a buttercream frosting I say clear a spot in the fridge.

I say just use the non-perishable filling. Why give yourself the extra unnecessary stress?

No fridge = no perishable fillings.

I just took my food handlers class on Wednesday and learned a lot. The lemon curd would be ok because of the acid content (Health inspector said oj was not a potentially hazardous food because of acid content so same reasoning) and he also said that fresh fruit is not potentially hazardous also. (so uncooked strawberries should be ok too) HTH

This is very helpful. What about cooked fruit fillings(cake iced w/ buttercream) , can they be left out at room temp over night? Also, on cooked fruit fillings, if I fill a baked cake with that, crumb coat it, wrap it & freeze it, will it thaw ok? Or will the filling be weird? Thanks!

according to the health inspector, the cooked fruit filling is a potential hazardous food. Go figure, uncooked is fine, cooked is not

Thanks so much everyone for the advice!! Time has made the decision for me so no lemon curd this go round. I'll definitely keep this in mind for the future though. I'm always unsure about what to do when it comes to perishable fillings in cakes covered with fondant. I love this place! lol