I've got an order to use fresh strawberry as a filling...anyone got a good tasting recipe? and how far in advance can i fill the cake without the strawberries going bad? I've never used or made fresh strawberry filling before..somebody help!

Hi Nettie, i dont know if i can anwser your question or not but i was going to do a Fresh strawberry filling and i think that on this site i read that you have to be really carefull with fresh fruit of any kind i dont think you could leave it out for very long, it grows bacteria really fast, if your going to do it i would fill that morning and have it served as soon as possible Does she want sliced berries on top of butter cream icing ?? there are some receipes here on the site that has some strawberry ones, you could make a puree with them , Sorry just try searching under receipes

I make a filling from fresh strawberries. I will PM you the recipe. It is essentially a two part process. First puree the strawberries and cook the puree with some sugar to taste, and add cornstarch with orange liquer and lemon juice (actually enhances the strawberry flavor) and then remove from heat and let cool to room temp. Add sliced fresh strawberries and mix into cooled puree. Place in fridge overnight and fill cake.

cake-angel, Thanks would you send me the recipe,
Thanks

Thanks guys for the tips! that really helps....

cake-angel,
would you mind sending me that recipe also??
my daughter wants that for her wedding cake.
thanks
-diane

Cake Angel - That sound yummy. Would you mind sending it to me as well? Thanks so much!

Me too please!

Cake Angel--

Will you please PM me the recipe too? I need a good strawberry filling recipe.

Thanks!

This is the one I use and it's awsome. I had the recipe before it was ever posted here. http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2206-1-Fresh-Strawberry-Filling.html

Okay everyone -- I looked at the recipe that ladyonzlake posted the link for which is almost exactly the one I use. Here are the things I do differently. I puree about half of the strawberries to cook with. I add half the sugar at first and than add more to taste depending on the quality of the berries I can get. I use grand marnier instead of kirsh as the orange actually enhances the strawberry flavor. Add the amount of grand marnier that you would have added kirsch. I am looking for balance of flavor so I am often tasting as I go along. When I feel I have enough orange liquer I will top off the needed volume with vodka. I also find I sometimes need to add more cornstarch than the original recipe calls for. I start out with the reccomended amount and see how thick it is -- If I feel it needs to be thicker after that I will mix up more cornstarch and add it and cook it. When I am satisfied I let it cool to room temp and then stir and place a film of plastic wrap directly on the surface and put in the refrigerator. I add the sliced berries about an hour before I fill the cake.

I use this same recipe as a base for my raspberry filling - I just cook down the whole bag of frozen raspberries none reserved for mixing in later. Add the half cup of sugar and then add more if needed. I use chambord or raspberry vodka as my liquer. I do the same thing for thickness -- just add cornstarch mixture a bit at a time until it gets to the thickness I want - always making sure to cook the cornstarch until there is no milkyness left to the filling and it has a nice clean shine. I hope this helps. I haven't tried this with fresh raspberries as I haven't had the opportunity.
I don't bother straining my fillings as I don't find the seeds to be a bother and I have never had a complaint but if you want to strain it I would puree an strain before cooking.

This sounds like the same type of recipe that I use to make Big Boy strawberry pie.

Cake Angel,

My son is finally (!) getting married and I am making the wedding cake. My beautiful future daughter wants a strawberry filling. I hope to make the very best filling possible and do it just right.

I read your modification of ladyonzlake's recipe. Grand Marnier is my favorite liquor and your version of this filling sounds fabulous!

However, I am as foggy as the Oregon sky this morning and am not clear on your directions...From your description, you puree half the strawberries...does that mean one of the two pints or 1/4 of a pint which is half of what ladyonzlake puts into the pan? Will you please send me your recipe so I can get the proportions exactly right?

Thank you so much!!
Beth

If I Had two pints I would puree 1 pint. You can puree the 1/2 pint in the recipe as it makes the filling chunkier (more fresh fruit in it) I just found personally that it was a little easier to work with if I pureed 1 pint to cook and thicken and then add 1 pint sliced after it is cooled. I hope this clarifies it a bit.
I love eating this stuff on toast too!

I don't really have the recipe written out as I essentially use that recipe as a guide and then change everything LOL!

Thanks so much, cake-angel! That helps a lot. I am going to try it tomorrow!

Cake Angel, Now I'M confused!! Where does the vodka come in? Or is that for you? tee-hee.
What do you mean about topping it off? How do I know what is topped off amount?
sorry, but the original recipe doesn't even call for Vodka. Thanks!

Okay -- Vodka hmmm well I will try to explain this better. I use grand marnier instead of kirsh. Because I actually use more puree than the original recipe I also need to use more cornstarch. The first addition of cornstarch I do as stated in the recipe except using Grand Marnier instead of Kirsch. (2Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2tbsp grand marnier.) I then Will taste it to see if I want to add more grand marnier or if the flavor is right. If I want more grand marnier I will mix another 1tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp G.M. If I feel that the flavor is at the right balance I will use vodka instead of grand marnier for adding the additonal cornstarch (1tbsp:1Tbsp) because it keeps the flavor where I want it to be. After the flavor is where I want it is more about getting it to the thickness I want so the vodka works to be able to add more cornstarch for thickening without disrupting my flavor balance. I know the recipe doesn't call for vodka and next time I make this I will try to figure out more accurate measurements and write the recipe with my changes. I just have modified it over time and I have nothing written. I think the cornstarch additions are the toughest as it does have some dependancy on the moisture content of the berries to begin with as to how much cornstarch you actually need. Let me know if this clears up the vodka mystery any. I am so sorry that my instructions aren't clear and that I don't have an actual recipe written out the way that I do it.

Hi, I just did a cake with fresh sliced strawberries in the filling, here is what I did.

I sliced the strawberries on Thursday and added some sugar the them, then I let them sit in the fridge overnight. Friday, I made my cake, put a layer of buttercream then the strawberries (and sauce the sugar made) over it. Covered with cake, etc. Delivered the cake Saturday morning, told her to keep it cool, and they ate it Sunday.

My customer said it was the best cake her family had in a long time, better than our famous local bakery!

Simple, but elegant. Worked for me! good luck!

Chica

Hmmm..well, I think I may be taking the lazy way out of things. I think I'm going to have to try your recipe as well to compare. All I have done the whole time is chop up fresh strawberries and place them directly onto the cake. Then, this is where I'm lazy, I just buy premade strawberry glaze. I feel like I'm cheating my customers now after seeing all that you guys go through.

Thanks for posting this information!

Tammi

I don't know if this will help, but many years ago, my mama started making cakes with strawberry filling. Refrigeration was not a real popular thing in the south... You really had to have a lot of money if you wanted a refrigerator or television for that matter... But, living in Florida, the strawberries were plentiful.

After she got her refrigerator/freezer, she would make "Strawberry Freezer Jam" and keep it until someone ordered one of her strawberry filled cakes.

To this day... I still use her recipe. When the strawberries are plentiful I make SEVERAL batches of freezer jam and keep it in the freezer until the order comes in for strawberry filling. I thaw the strawberry jam out... put a thin thin layer of buttercream between the layers... make my dam on the side with the butter cream and fill it up with the strawberry jam. Everybody loves it. I've had brides tell me they wish they would have had every tier filled with the strawberry jam due to the fact that people were almost fighting over the cake.

Freezer jam is the simplest way for me as long as you have freezer space to keep it. Florida strawberries are not plentiful year round like they are from California, so I usually make enough to last me a year, then I'm ready for the next season.

Hope this helps....

So is strawberry filling very safe for a wedding cake? I have one coming up in several weeks too where the bride wants 3 of the tiers with Fresh Strawberry filling. I ususally start icing my cakes 2 days ahead so I have plenty of time to finish....even if I do the strawberry filled tiers one day before the wedding, is there going to be problems if the cake isn't refridgerated for the few hours before consumption?

I've never had a problem with mine. Of course when I start working on wedding cakes, I turn my AC to about 65 degrees. So the cake stays cool. I've prepped my tiers 2 days ahead of time, and no problems at all and I'm in Mississippi where the heat and humidity is ALWAYS an issue.

OK, so we all now have a great filling recipe. Which cake recipe do you find works the best? And step further- preference for icing? Love to hear the opinions on the "best" fresh strawberry filled cake- top to bottom (that is- filling, cake, and icing).

The last couple of times that I made strawberry filling, I used a recipe from CC, Simple Raspberry filling. I used strawberries instead. The recipe calls for a TBS of butter, & it makes it absolutely delicious. I made a WASC cake with the filling & I had several tell me that it was the best cake they've ever had.

Do you think it would work with cupcakes? If so, how do I add the fresh strawberry filling? I am new to cupcakes and I would like something nice for our breast cancer awareness and walk/run bake sale at church.

I like to use strawberry filling on a white or yellow cake. I find the filling makes the cake on tose ones. My favorite icing for these is stabilized whipped cream. I did make this with a vanilla buttercream before and it was fabulous!! I have never had any problems with this filling being out for display on the day of an event. I do live in a cooler climate though and our hotest days are about 35 celcius and I never set cakes in direct sunlight. Of course I don't use whipped cream on cakes that are going to be set out. I still reccomend refrigeration up until the day of the event. I know it lasts well for about 10 days in the fridge if you haven't added the sliced berries to it yet. About 5 days with the sliced berries (although the sliced berries will start to soften after a couple of days).

The one I tried on here weeped very badly.... I would love a good one... Please.. thank you.

Thanks for the recipe cake-angel. I too have a to make a cake with strawberry filling and your recipe sounds great.

You are Welcome. The key is to get the cooked part thickened enough to keep the sliced ones in place. The sliced ones will add moisture to the filling but if it is thick enough to begin with it seems to compensate.