I need a strawberry filling, would like to just add strawberrys to my buttercream, I think. Using the preserves does not sound appetizing, and I do not want the filling to be too sweet. That's why I thought my best route would be to just add strawberrys.

1. I am not sure if I need to use fresh or could I use frozen?

2. I will fill and ice the cake on Thursday, put in the fridge until Friday when I will cover and stack. It needs to be ready on Saturday. Will the fresh/frozen strawberrys be ok in the cake from Thursday to Saturday?

If someone has a better option please let me know, all input is welcome.

I am covering in fondant so it will not be in the fridge after Friday.

Thanks in advance

I haven't mixed them in buttercream yet but I have placed them on top as a filling. I put cream cheese bc then layered sliced fresh strawberries on top of that, then put the next layer of cake on. It was fine room temp and tasted yummy. HTH

I thought of that at first but the birthday boy is 1yr. old. Maybe I could just flavor the bc w/preserves for his smash cake and make the other w/the sliced strawberrys.
Thanks for your help.

Sliced strawberries will go bad quickly, so you would need to keep the cake in the fridge.

I haven't tried strawberries on the buttercream, but I have used this recipe quite a few times. http://cakecentral.com/recipes/7612/chunky-strawberry-filling
You'd think it would be really sweet, but to me and my family, it's not. I think the buttercream is the sweetest thing on the cake. When I eat cake with this filling, I sometimes think I'm eating fresh strawberries. You should try it. It's very yummy!

I have added strawberries to buttercream before and have used both fresh and frozen(defrosted of course). I mash the strawberries and sprinkled about a TBLS of sugar over the top and allowed them to sit for about a half hour. Since the strawberries will produce a juice, I added strawberries as my liquid (instead of milk or water). If it is too thick, then go back to your recipe and add milk or water.