Do I need to do a buttercream dam if I am using a fruit filling but only covering the cake in bc not fondant? I made a cake last week with a very stiff buttercream dam. It was so stiff I could mold it with my fingers. And it was really sickly sweet. I did wonder if it was really necessary.

This week I'm planning to make this cupcake recipe as a layer cake, using the cupcake filling as my fruit filling. I think I will use less water in the filling so it isn't as mushy. Do you think it will work?

http://junipercakery.co.uk/blog/recipe-golden-apple-strudel-cupcakes/

The buttercream recipe uses a 1:1 weight ratio of butter to icing sugar. I normally use closer to 1:2. Will 1:1 hold up? It has no liquid except a few drops of apple essence.

The dam is to keep you from having a bulge or having the filling coming out so it doesn't matter if you are covering the cake in buttercream or fondant you will still want to have a dam to prevent either of those two things from happening.