Cake fillings... the difference between "cake" and "dessert"

After baking and decorating cakes for so long, I am very picky about the cakes that I choose to eat. I love cake, but eating a piece of ho hum cake with ho hum icing is like eating... well, "just cake," and I would just as easily pass it by. But when you have a deliciously moist piece of cake with a scrumptious filling and a great icing, it becomes a delightful dessert instead of "just cake." That is hard to resist. At Cathy Leavitt custom creations, we offer a wide variety of different fillings, from fruity to chocolate to fluffy mousses. Each one, combined with the right cake and icing, can be very tempting indeed. I have combined some of my favorite flavors as our Specialty Dessert Cakes on our menu. It's hard to pick a favorite, but anything with chocolate is always a hit. Lemon is becoming a strong second. 

Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry and Fudge Filllings

When we add a filling to a cake, I slice each layer in half. Note: I have an Agbay cake leveler that levels the top of the cake layer and slices the layer at the same time. One of my very very favorite decorating tools. Pricey, yes, but so worth it! Over the years, I have used many cake levelers and the problem is... they just don't work. If you're serious about cake decorating, look into this amazing tool!

Each cake normally consists of 2 layers, so after you slice each layer, you have four layers. I put filling between the top 2 layers and the bottom 2 layers, and add whatever icing I'm using in the middle. Before adding the filling, be sure to apply an "icing dam." Not only does this hold in the fillings, but it keeps the cakes level. Click here to visit my tutorial on filling cakes. This tutorial also contains recipes for an easy basic mousse filling and Bavarian Creme filling. To make a yummy coconut creme filling, you can add toasted coconut to the Bavarian Creme. (And then try not to eat it all before putting it on the cake... I know this from experience.)

Dark Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse

Fill cupcakes? Oh yes, but you do not need a fancy cupcake corer in order to fill them. Just load your decorating bag with a large open round tip, like #12, push it into the center of your cupcake and squeeze... just don't go overboard. After awhile, you'll get the knack of it... so easy. After you've eaten a filled cupcake, you'll not go back to one without. 

 Spice Cake with Salted Caramel Mousse and 

Cream Cheese Icing, Drizzled with Salted Caramel

 White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Raspberry 

Filling, Vanilla Buttercream, and Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Cake with Bavarian Creme,

Chocolate Buttercream, and Toffee Bits

Fresh fruit can also be used as a filling in cakes. It is best to add a thin layer of whipped cream or mousse to the cake first, and then slice and layer the fruit on top. Some other good fruit fillings to use are Solo Raspberry Filling, Dickinson's Lemon Curd (my favorite), and Cherry All-Fruit Spread. Be creative and try different combinations! 

 Yellow Cake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Strawberries

Sample Cakes for Cake Tasting-

Chocolate Mint Mousse, Shirley Temple (1 layer of vanilla, 

1 of chocolate, with Bavarian Creme and white chocolate curls),

Lemon with Lemon Curd and Lemon Buttercream

How to fill a cake

As I was visiting my niece Tiffany in Arizona last week, who is learning how to decorate, she was asking me about the best way to fill a cake, so this blog post is for her, along with anyone else who may be interested. I'll also post a couple of my favorite filling recipes.

First, make sure the cake is thoroughly cooled, not necessarily chilled, just cooled. If I have a wedding cake to deliver on Saturday, I usually bake the cake on Thursday night, decorate on Friday, and deliver on Saturday. I NEVER freeze my cakes. I think it makes a difference in the taste. I chill the cakes when they have fillings or frostings that require refrigeration to stay fresh. I'm using a tiny 6 inch round for my demo, as I had a small 2 tier (6" and 10") chocolate ganache wedding cake last weekend. I have a "cake saw" that I have had for years, but on a small cake such as this, you could also use a long bread knife. I strongly suggest purchasing a cake saw if you start filling larger cakes. Cake saws normally come with adjustable feet. I have taken mine off. Also, because I have been decorating for so long, I can just "eyeball" my measurements. When you are first starting out, you may want to divide the sides of the cake equally with toothpicks as a guide.

Step #1

Trim off any "domed" part of the layer, so that it is flat.

Step #2

Slice the layer in half. It does not have to be perfect.

Step #3
Slide another slightly larger cake board between the two pieces and carefully lift off.

Leave a small portion of the cake hanging off the side of the cake board, to make putting the layer back on easier. Lay this piece next to the cake, being sure to keep it in the same position as you removed it.
Step #4
Insert a coupler into your decorating bag. Using the coupler only, without a tip, apply an "icing dam" around the edge of the cake, using whatever icing you will be using to ice the outside of the cake (On this cake I used a chocolate buttercream). This will act as a barrier to hold the filling in, and will also keep your cakes level.

Step #5
Spread filling inside icing dam. Do not use fillings that are too runny. You can also combine fillings. Make sure not to go over the top edge of the icing dam. The filling I used for this cake is a fudge filling.

Step #6
Reposition the top layer over the filling, keeping it in the same direction you took it off, and starting with the portion that is hanging off the board.

Step #7
Repeat with next layer, being sure to stack the two layers together with top sides together, after leveling  off the top. This will give you a nice flat surface to ice the cake.

Step #7
Gently press down around edges of cake top to ensure that cake is level, and brush off excess crumbs. Ice cake. I usually start with the sides, and then ice the top, and then smooth the entire surface. I will make "icing the cake" the subject of another post.

Here is the finished iced cake that I have positioned on a rack, ready to have chocolate ganache poured over the top.

Fudge Filling
(1) 8 oz. package cream cheese
Approx. 1/3 cup baking cocoa (or more, depending on taste)
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla


Beat cream cheese until soft. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy. To make this into a chocolate mousse, add about 8 -10 oz. whipped topping.


Mousse Filling
(1) 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar 
1 tsp. vanilla
8 - 10 oz. whipped topping
Desired flavor and amount of fruit filling, jam, or other ingredients


Beat cream cheese until soft. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Add whipped topping. Fold in fruit filling or jam. Do not use fresh strawberries, as it will make the mousse go flat and runny. If you are a chocolate and peanut butter fan, try adding peanut butter to this recipe...yum.

Easy Bavarian Creme Filling

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 (3 1/2 oz.) packages vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup milk

12 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Mix together dry pudding mix and cream cheese. Slowly beat in milk. Fold in Cool Whip. You may also use other flavors of puddings.

You can also use vanilla or chocolate whipped topping as a filling...or try adding whipped topping under fresh fruit. One of my most requested cakes is a banana split cake...yellow cake with layers of bananas, strawberries, and pineapple, all on top of whipped topping, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and sprinkled with nuts. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I needed a cute cake pattern for my latest cake that I designed for the February birthday folks at Wynwood. So I googled cupid coloring book pages, and found this cute little cupid...complete with boxer shorts with little hearts and heart-shaped glasses. My friend, Michelle, that orders the cakes, tells me that the whimsical cakes I do for them are always a big hit. I love looking for cake patterns on the internet...so much easier than it used to be in years gone by. The flavor of this cake was French vanilla with cherry mousse.

Chocolate Mint Mousse Wedding Cake

A visitor to my website requested some information about making a chocolate mint mousse cake for her daughter's wedding. First of all, she lives at a very high altitude, so it is necessary to make a few changes when baking the cake. For the chocolate mint cake, I use Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate and add 1 tsp. of mint flavoring to each cake mix. I also add 1/4 cup flour and an extra egg (4 total) to each mix. If I am using 2 mixes (I never mix more than 2 mixes at once), I add 7 eggs instead of 6. Also, be very careful not to put too much batter in the cake pans. Too much batter will also make the cakes sink in the middle. I used to always bake my cakes at 325 degrees instead of the recommended 350 degrees because the cakes turned out moister. At high altitudes, I have to raise the temperature slightly to 335 degrees. Just be careful not to overbake the cake. 


The layers of the cake are torted (split) and filled with a chocolate mint mousse. The recipe is as follows:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

Approx. 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Approx. 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 cups of whipped topping

Andes mint pieces

Beat cream cheese until soft and smooth. Scrape bowl and gradually add the cocoa and powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, scraping the bowl often. Fold in the whipped topping and mint pieces.

I would normally ice this cake in a chocolate whipped cream with Andes mint pieces sprinkled on top, but for a wedding cake, I would ice it in a regular whipped cream. One of my past entries will give you the best recipe for a stabilized whipped cream icing. It is important that the cake stays refrigerated after decorating it until just before setting it up. Here are two pictures...one shows the chocolate mint mousse cake, and the other shows a wedding cake iced in whipped cream.                                           

Chocolate Mint Mousse Specialty Cake

Wedding cake iced with whipped cream icing

To fill or not to fill...

Raspberry Fudge cake

Chocolate mint mousse cake Chocolate Lover's cake

Slicing the layers and adding a filling can turn any cake into an elegant dessert instead of "just a cake." Even the so called self-proclaimed non-cake lover may change his mind with the first bite. Several different flavors and ingredients can be used to fill cakes. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Fudge or fudge nut
• Cream cheese
• Mousse--strawberry, raspberry, chocolate, chocolate mint, peanut butter to name a few
• Fruit fillings--strawberry (best when using fresh strawberries in season), raspberry, lemon, cherry
• Bavarian creme
• Whipped cream--vanilla or chocolate

My specialty cakes always have some kind of yummy filling between the layers. For example my raspberry fudge cake has a layer of fudge filling between layers of raspberry filling in a moist chocolate cake, iced in a delicious buttercream and covered with hand-shaved chocolate curls...yumm! Another is the banana split cake...rich layers of yellow cake with layers of whipped cream with pineapple, fresh strawberries, and bananas, iced with whipped cream and sprinkled with nuts and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Makes you hungry, doesn't it? Next time, try adding a filling to your cake and wait for the compliments!!!