I am new to this and I have a question about fillings. I've heard of people using fruit preserves/jams but to me they are too sweet/corn syruppee. I tried some of the better brands and it still taste like something that should be on toast and not in a cake. Do you do something to the jam before filling the cake? What are y'all using for fruit fillings?

Alot of people mix the jam right into the BC icing and use that for filling.Not as sweet.

I use things like Polaner All-Fruit in mine. I also use those sleeve fillings.

I have used this apricot filling from the Wilton site...it has the consistency of jam when done but there is the option for amount of sweetness. It is very good but I increased the amount of Grand Marnier in it..

http://www.wilton.com/recipes/recipesandprojects/cake_filling/apricotfilling.cfm

Hope that helps and welcome to the addictive world of CC !!!

I am getting a lot of requests for lemon cake with lemon curd. Lemon curd is tart.
I know that is not going to help with most cakes but it is good with lemon or gingerbread.

I like H&H sleeved fillings, very good straight, mixed with fruit or added to whipped Pastry Pride topping.
http://www.cybercakes.com/pastry_fillings.html

I also like a brand of Lemon curd found on the Jans and Jelly aisle of many supermarkets. Robertson's lemon curd.

I came up with this recipe for a wedding cake I did last weekend. It was very yummy!!!
whip 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream with 1/4 c powdered sugar until thick.
Then i folded in 1 package cheesecake flavored pudding and one can rasberry cake filling ( found at Target, but rasberry jam would work too). Soooo good! I put this in a lemon cake, but would work great with any flavor.

Hey, when you guys say you use those sleeve fillings and love them, what brands are you using? I bought one from my local restaurant supply store and it was the nastiest thing I've tasted since Wilton Fondant! If there are good ones out there, point me to 'em!! Please, that is!

Thanks everyone...this helps alot. AND yes I am totally addicted to CC

I sometimes mix the preserves right into buttercream icing, but I usually use the sugar-free preserves, if available, so the final filling isn't overly sweet (I make a really sweet BC icing--my customers love it--and it just seems like sugar overkill if I use real sugary preserves).