i am making a vanilla WASC cake with the ameretto custard filling recipe on this site. I wlll seal with ganache before I put fondant over it. So my question is: should I add a layer of fresh fruit? Is strawberries the best option? If the party is on Saturday, what is the earliest I can torte, fill, seal with ganache? Does the cake have to be stored in the fridge (I am just a hobby baker without a lot of fridge space) or can i just keep in an air conditioned room? I want to make sure I have plenty of time to decorate it thank you sooooo much

If it's a real custard---eggs in it--and fresh strawberries, yes, it absolutely needs to be refrigerated.

The fresh fruit pretty much sets it up to require completion as late as possible, too, as the moisture from the fresh fruit will become an issue is left too long.

Rae

That is what I was afraid of. So what is the best plan for a vanilla WASC cake with ameretto fuit filling? What recipes will make it stable in N air conditioned home for 48 hrs?

If you are planning on not refrigerating and want a strawberry filling I would go to your local cake store and purchase a pre made shelf stable strawberry filling. And as the other poster said make sure the custard recipe doesn't require refrigeration. Otherwise I would purchase a custard filling at the cake store. I generally refrigerate all my cakes as I use fillings that require refrigeration especially when using sliced strawberries. They tend to get mushy and weep so you need to decorate the morning of the event.