Hey everyone! I'm making a four layer cake filled with strawberry cooked filling! This is my first time making one that I need to freeze for a few days! I plan to make a dam using French buttercream, to keep the filling from leaking out. It's going to be crumb coated with Swiss buttercream and covered with fondant. Is it ok to do this or do I have to fill and refrigerate it the day before it's due? I really want to just decorate the day before, so I'm trying to find a solution. Your help is appreciated!! Thanks!
Cornstarch breaks down when frozen so if you used that as a thickener, it cannot be successfully frozen and maintain the texture.
Thanks so much for responding IslandCaker!! Do you know of a recipe that I could use that doesn't use cornstarch and won't bleed?
I have only used a recipe with cornstarch so I wouldn't want to recommend one I haven't tried. You may want to check out the recipes here - there are several for strawberry filling that do not have cornstarch. fyi, you can successfully freeze gelatin. Good luck.
I would not consider trying to freeze anything made with fresh strawberries, but if you need to make it in advance (and I agree with you), have you considered using commercial strawberry jam or preserves? That should freeze without a problem.
I substitute clear jel for cornstarch when I make my fresh strawberry filling (strawberries, water, clear jel, sugar and lemon zest). It doesn't give the whitish tint, thickens without heat and not as damaged by freezing. I freeze giant batches when strawberries get down to $1.00/lb and defrost in the fridge, never runny and haven't had a problem with it in defrosted cakes either. I put a thin layer of buttercream, like crumb coat thin, as a barrier between the cake layers and strawberry filling to protect it from soaking in and changing the cakes texture and damn with Swiss Meringue
Thank you mkcherry!! Could you give me your recipe! This would be perfect for summer baking and freezing some for the winter months!
This isn't exact as I kind of wing it by taste but it will turn out and you can tinker with the amount of thickener / sugar if you wish
Add 12 cups (6 of the standard clam shells) of chopped strawberries to a large pot. Add 3 cups of sugar and let sit until strawberries have given up most of their liquid (like a half hour) then add a little water if necessary to make sure the strawberries are at least half covered with liquid and bring to a simmer keep it there stirring until the strawberries are very soft. Turn off and blend either with a stick blender or pour into a regular blender, I go for fairly smooth as i mix it with Swiss meringue buttercream for "strawberry Ice cream buttercream" and chunks don't go through piping tips well. Can leave chunkier for cake filling.
let of cool a bit then add the zest of a lemon and 10 T of clear gel that has been dissolved in a few tablespoons of water. You can just dump the gel in but occasionally I'd get lumps. Stir again and wait until thickened and cool before freezing. I find freezing in flat ziplock to be most efficient
The sugar has to be tinkered a bit for every batch, when strawberries are like $1.25 a package they are about to go bad and VERY sweet only time I make filling. If you have tarter / harder / greener fruit you'll have to up the sugar.
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