Cake fillings: what you need to know now that it’s hot
As a cake decorator selling your cakes or a home baker making desserts for friends and family, it is important to know all the facts about fillings, which ones need to be refrigerated and which ones can be left at room temperature. Your reputation may depend on it, and you certainly don’t want to make anyone sick.
We know that buttercream frosting doesn’t hold up well in heat. Think of a fondant covered cake with filling. Do you think it is safe to be outside in the heat? Maybe not. Chocolate ganache filling melts if left on fire for a while. Did you know that? It is misleading. It sets firmly so you can use it as a filling in sculpted cakes and can be shaped into truffles that are delicious to eat, but when a ganache-filled cake settles in the heat, the ganache softens and begins to disintegrate which, if it’s a stacked cake, it might fall off.
Plan ahead. Make sure your clients or hosts are informed about the types of fillings that would be most suitable for your events.
Fillings can be made from scratch or purchased. Fillings made from scratch are highly perishable and must be kept refrigerated. No new stuffing recipes should be tried the night before an event. If you have to do something new, try the recipe two weeks in advance. That way, if you need to make changes, you will have time to do so or to get help.
Fillings that come in sleeves at your local bakery can be used straight out of the sleeve as is and the rest can be refrigerated for up to 6 months.
If you decide to use fresh fruit in your filling, be sure to use the freshest fruit you can find and prepare it as close to serving time as possible. If you must assemble the cake the night before (for example, strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries in the middle, cut the fruit in half. Smaller pieces will become mushy overnight and will not present well.
Not sure how to properly whip the cream for your filling, use the spray can version, sprinkle with confectioners ‘sugar and add your fresh fruit and top with more canned whipped cream and more confectioners’ sugar.
If your cake has a fresh fruit filling and the cake is covered in fondant, stack the cakes instead. The fondant will become rubbery if you stack them earlier.
Refrigerated fillings
If your event is taking place indoors, whether it’s in a great room or someone’s home, feel free to use a filling that needs to be refrigerated. Cream cheese, custard, pastry cream, whipped cream, puddings, and any mousse-type filling that includes fresh fruit are perfect for these places. Cakes can be refrigerated until just before serving. When ordering these fillings, let people know that there should be room in the refrigerator to store the cake until it’s time to serve it. Many people fill the refrigerators with everything else and then have to struggle to find space for the cake. You cannot stay out for a long period of time or there will be a disaster.
Speaking of mess, don’t mix up a batch of the pudding mix as directed on the box and use it as a filling for your cakes. Unless it’s made like a mousse, it won’t hold the weight of the cake on top and will ooze and mess.
When in doubt, make a test cake to see what happens when you refrigerate your cake with the provided filling and frosting / fondant. You don’t want to be surprised by this.
Refrigerated fillings are delicious, although sometimes they are a double-edged sword. Shortbread cakes don’t taste their best when they come out of the refrigerator. Pair them with a chilled filling, and you have a choice to make. Cold cake or warm filling. Either one is not good. And you don’t want people to tell the host / hostess that the cake was “dry” because it was cold. Switch to a different cake recipe or use sugar syrup on the cake layers before assembling to help the cake retain moisture so it doesn’t dry out while in the fridge.
Remember that gumpaste and royal icing decorations on a cake will be ruined if refrigerated.
Non-refrigerated fillings
Any of the stuffing sleeves purchased at your local cake decorating store should be fine at room temperature. So are jellies, condatives, and ganache. Whenever you use the fillings in the sleeves, remember the frosting dam around the edge of the cake. You don’t want it to come off once the cake sets. Trust me this time. That is why it is best to use the following technique for fillings.
Make sure you have a thick layer of frosting around the edge of the cake. Add a layer of filling no more than 1/4 “high. For example, each time I use lemon filling, I divide the cake layer in half, add the frosting layer, spread the lemon filling, and then place the two layers together. Frosting goes between the layers of the cake, so it will be:
Thin layer of frosting that covers the entire cake:
Lemon cake
Icing Dam – Lemon Filling
Lemon cake
Intermediate layer of frosting
Lemon cake
Icing Dam – Lemon Filling
Lemon cake
Cake board
Always refrigerate to allow frosting to set. Once it’s done, cover the cake with fondant. Place your cake in a cake box that has room to fit without the fondant touching the top or sides of the box. Refrigerate again to set. This is your insurance policy when you deliver the cake. If the party is at your house and it’s cold inside, you can skip it. Refrigerating this type of cake makes cutting easier so that the filling does not come off each slice. You want a good presentation.
When you take the cake out of the refrigerator, remember to give it time to “sweat.” Do not touch it during this period or it will leave a mark. Let the cake come to room temperature. Usually by the time you travel to your destination and it’s time to serve the cake, the fondant will be fine to cut and the shiny, wet look will be gone.
What kind of filler is it?
Lemon, chocolate, caramel, banana, apricot, chocolate chips, and a few other fillings are easily recognized in a cake just by looking at them. Don’t make your guests guess what they are eating. Make store cards for each table that include this information or add it to the menu card. With so many food allergies, you don’t want to be remembered for making someone sick.
To freeze or not to freeze
Never freeze a cake filled with custard because it will separate. The whipped cream cakes have been frozen. It depends on the type of cream used. Check the container to see if it tells you that it can be frozen because you don’t want your cake to cry. Rose Berenbaum, in her book, The Cake Bible, shows you how to stabilize whipped cream with jelly.
Enjoy using your cake fillings to take your cakes to higher levels. Just stay safe.