I LOVE seeing and reading about all your cakes! I've been decorating for about 14/15 years - I started decorating for my nieces/nephews birthdays when I was about 12/13 (some of the pics I've uploaded are from my early days). So far everything I've done is self taught - tho I'd love to take a class soon.
Anyway - I really want to try a filled cake. What is the best filling for a newbie and do you make your own or buy? If it can be bought where do you buy the filling?
Thanks!
I make all of mine, but you can buy them too. I think lemon curd is nice, I have a recipe for raspberry here on cc. Chocolate ganache is super easy. Also a lot of people like the cookies and cream recipe here, but i havent tried it. Or just crush up oreo in buttercream. Mint oreos in chocolate icing is yummy! Oh the ideas are endless.
Hi and welcome.
You can either make your own fillings or buy the packaged "sleeve" fillings. The sleeves are usually available at cake supply stores or online. If you do a search of cake sleeve fillings something would probably come up.
You can also make your own fillings and use those. People use all kinds of things, buttercream icing mixed with preserves, pudding, custard, etc.
One of my favorite filling recipes is on this site - cookies and cream filling. It's SOOOOO easy to make and so delicious. Everyone loves it and will think you worked all day to make it.
The only tip I can think of to tell you is when adding filling to a cake, make sure to pipe a thick "dam" of stiff icing all the way around the edge of the cake to keep the filling from oozing out the sides when you put the top layer on. I usually pipe a tip 12 dam around or sometimes, if it's a thinner filling, I pipe without a tip, just the coupler. Make sure not to fill higher than the dam.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
Here's a little tutorial from Wilton on making a cake dam:
http://www.wilton.com/cake/cakeprep/stacking.cfm
Sleeved Pastry Fillings:
http://www.thebakerskitchen.com/BAKEWARE_SHOPPE/Baking_Ingredients/Pastry_Filling/pastry_fillings.htm
http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/mini.aspx?T=1&SubCatId=798
Nutella as cake filling:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-698681-.html
Raspberry Filling:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-92851-.html
Easy & Tasty Cream Cheese Filling:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipes_rate-2743-5.html
Link to all CC fillings:
http://tinyurl.com/33c6gw
Link to all CC frostings:
http://tinyurl.com/36bm7n
Handy safe storage chart for frostings and fillings:
(From Sarah Phillips of baking911.com.)
http://tinyurl.com/ymqp6x
HTH
The fillings that don't require refrigeration are the easiest. (Don't have to move stuff around in the fridge to make room....)
Nutella is probably the easiest, followed by jam or preserves.
To make a fancier presentation with no more (real) work; I like to put down a layer of buttercream (on torted layers) and then add the nutella or jam....
Looks real pretty when you cut the slices. 
HTH
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