Hello,

So I have my first almond cake order going to try the WASC sssooo excited for that! But the customer wants a strawberry fruit filling... normally I would do a whipped cream and I mix in some strawbery pie filling... but since she doesn't want any cream I'm just going to do the fruit....

So my questions are 1) Should I use strawberry pie filling? OR should I use strawberry Jam from a jar?

2) Without any cream won't the jam/jelly type stuff from the pie filling or jam absorb into the cake? I don't want it to be gooey!!

3) Should I smear a thin layer of buttercream down into the cake before I put the filling? If I do will the jam still absorb into the layer above it?

Thaaaanks in advance!

First and foremost please dam your cake well, then put the jam on the base cake and follow with icing on the under part of the cake you're putting on top of the jam. Most of the jam will sink into the cake which is perfect because jam and icing can create an ice-rink effect and your tiers could slide. Damming the cake will help prevent this as well. Another idea besides the jam (seedless) is to accent your icing filling with strawberry extract and one dot of red food coloring (not a whole drop but the very end of the tip of a toothpick full of color). You just want a nice light pink color.

I apply a thin layer of high quality fruit preserves directly onto the cake and let it absorb in to intensify the flavor. The also use the preserves to flavor the buttercream. Depending, of course, if fresh or preserves were requested.

BEWARE: I did a cake once with fresh strawberry filling and mixed some preserves in with it and than mixed it with the buttercream. WELL the strawberries began to mascerate (sp?) because of the sugar in the preserves. It kept leaking out of a few areas between the layers and down the side. No matter how many times I patched, it just kept flowing...

BUT I swear that I have mixed fresh strawberries directly into buttercream and it didn't mascerate. Don't know why?

If I do fresh, it's usually for cassata cakes.

Thanks for the input... I ALWAYS damn my fillings... whether they be pudding or fruit etc. I'm not too worried about it coming out the sides just more of it all seeping into the cake and creating a gooey cake. Seeing as how the customer firmly requested no icing in the filling! I'll have to figure this out???

Here's the link for directions to a stable jam & Jello filling recipe:

http://tinyurl.com/2xpxot
(Scroll down go Jam Fillings.)

HTH

Whenever I do a strawberry filling without cream or frosting, I use Comstock Strawberry Pie Filling (Premium). It's very good and does not make the cake gooey at all. It's a favorite of my friends.

hhhmmm don't have comstock over here... I have J.D. Smith that's what I'll have to use...

Are the CK icing fruits too intense to be used alone? I have used them a few times and mixed them with a little butter cream, but have not experimented too much with them.