Quick Questions - Need Help Asap

[pchefinski]

got a couple quick (kinda non-pc related) questions if someone could help me out ASAP. trying to throw together a cake for a party. got two 9" round chocolate cakes (to layer). got a can of cherry pie filling. got both vanilla & chocolate pudding mix. got thing of cream cheese frosting and one of vanilla..

here's the questions.
can i put the pie filling in between the cakes without the cake getting soggy? should i add in a layer of pudding (and if so, vanilla or chocolate)? and last but not least, would the cream cheese frosting taste weird with the cherry/chocolate combo? i need both containers b/c i'm decorating the cake too, so i'll probably need more than just one container of frosting overall. would it taste odd to combine the frostings? or should i just use one of them to decorate & the other to frost?

lol lots of questions.. thanks so much for your help. i looked at the cakes in the store and they look like a 5 year old decorated them and are $35.00.. plus i'm not buying a cake for 50 when i got 6 people coming over! (only reason i'm making one at all is b/c my husband oddly requested it)

 

[jenniferlynne]

You're are in luck. I have taken Wilton cake decorating classes and have been doing cakes for about 15 years. You can put a very thin layer of filling between the cakes, but I would recommend chopping the cherries up small first. If you put too much filling, the layers will slide apart, so it does need to be thin. You do need to put a layer of frosting down first then the pie filling. Don't spread the filling all the way to the edges either. Stop about 1/4" from the edge. Here is my all time favorite icing recipe:
1 cup crisco
3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water (depending on how thick you want it)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (can use more vanilla if you don't have almond)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat all in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Have you seen those Betty Crocker Bake 'N Fill pans on TV? I have one of those. I once made a chocolate cake and then spread a thin layer of raspberry preserves on the inside of the hollowed out part. Then I mixed up cream cheese, powdered sugar, french vanilla pudding and milk and filled the rest off the hollow part with that. I topped it with the other layer of chocolate cake and then decorated it with homemade cream cheese icing. I didn't get to taste it because I made if for a girl my husband works with, but he said everyone loved it and ate the entire thing. I think your flavors will be ok together. My mom used to make a black forest cake with chocolate cake, chocolate icing and cherries in between the layers and on top.

Hope I didn't ramble on too much and that it helped.

 

[pchefinski]

jennifer, thank you so much! i'll bust out the food chopper and get to work on those cherries. i think it'll be ok in the end. it's a half-dozen guys eating it, so i doubt they'll care what flavor it is or what is inside of it! i'll let you know how it turns out. gonna do the steelers logo on the top of it, so it shouldnt' be too hard.

another question -- can i put it together tonight and stick it in the fridge?
or should i wait to assemble it tomorrow? (thing is I'd like to get it decorated and out of the way since I have to make 8 pizzas tomorrow after church, before the party)..

thanks again! i appreciate it.