Creamy & Firm Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling Perfected

I submitted my original recipe last year but several people had trouble with it. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I was using a dinosaur of a microwave and while my instructions worked well for me, they didn’t work so well for people with newer, higher wattage microwave ovens. So I finally set to work to make a foolproof version. It turns out great no matter what size or wattage microwave you have and it’s firm and stable enough to keep inside of a frosted or fondanted cake for 2 days without refrigeration. So if you are decorating a large wedding cake that may take a couple of days, this is perfect. This recipe is enough for a thick layer of filling in a half sheet cake and a 9″ or 10″ round.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 small pkgs strawberry gelatin
  • 4 8oz pkgs cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 16oz pkg frozen sweetened strawberries (thawed)

Instructions

  1. Put one cup of water into a clear glass bowl–don’t subtitute. Microwave on high until it boils. Add the two boxes of gelatin and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you can smear the mixture against the side of the bowl without seeing any granules. It should be clear and red. This step will take a few minutes. Add the strawberries and mix well. Let this come to room temperature. DO NOT refrigerate. Cream the cream cheese in a stand mixer until fluffy. Add the strawberry mixture a half cup at a time until it is well blended (it will be a little thin). Refrigerate for an hour or more or until ready to use. This filling is very yummy with WASC as it is not too sweet.

Comments (70)

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How can the cream cheese stay out for several days without spoiling? I would love to try this for a fondant covered cake but was under the impression that a cream cheese buttercream is what is needed as the powdered sugar acts as a preservative so that it does not go bad? Anyone know?

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Tug--Yes, strawberry jello is the same as strawberry gelatin. Either is fine. Fairmaden--The filling will not spoil as long as the cake is covered in frosting and/or fondant, and should not be left out more than 48 hours. If you mean more than two when you say "several" then no, I would not leave it out for several days. The cake should be in an air conditioned environment also. In my experience, when doing a fondant covered wedding cake--which usually takes a couple of days, it has worked out very well and has never broken down or spoiled. It is cheese, after all and has less tendency to spoil than do other foods :) I hope this helps answer your questions.

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bakescupcakes, There are 85 grams in a small pkg of gelatin here in the states, so you would need 170. Are you in the UK?

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Thanks bobmiss! My family and customers love it too. Yes memawjo, I would think you could pipe this into a cupcake. I don't know why it wouldn't work and yes bobmiss, this freezes quite nicely!

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I tried this recipe because I was sick and tired of oozing strawberry fillings when so many of my customers ask for it!! I am hooked!! This recipe tasted just like the traditional filling I was using before MINUS the oozing! I love it and it is so easy to make. On an interesting note, I had extra and wasn't sure it would freeze so I made a graham cracker crust and used it as pie filling for a strawberry-refridgerator pie. I took it to a family BBQ and everyone ate it up. That makes this recipe good for multi-purposes too, which makes it a plus in my book!

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so greatful that i tried to find another strawberry filling and came across your update.... i was one of those people that struggled with the old one. cant wait to try it again....... thanks

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This tasted amazing!! Only problem is that even with a dam, it seeped out of my buttercream in this hot Texas heat :( Probably wasn't the recipe, since it only happened on delivery, but still ruined some of my icing. I put it in the fridge for a bit and it was solid! :) Tasted delicious and I will definitely use again (and keep temperature in mind)!! My husband was even eating it out of the bowl.

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Just want to thank everyone for all of the lovely comments. My hubby likes to eat it out of the bowl also lol. Becca, here's a little trick I learned from Sharon Zambito. Put some buttercream in a bowl and knead as much powdered sugar into it as you can. It should be stiff enough to touch without being sticky but soft enough to still go through a bag and tip. Use it for your dams. Nothing seeps through it and you can mold it, roll it, repair breaks, etc..with ease.

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I tried this recipe when I saw it on the homepage here at CC...not sure how long ago that was...a few weeks?? Anyways, I LOVED IT!! And so did my entire family, so much that I have suggested it to five customers, and all requested it, then responded back to me with wonderful comments! Thank you so much!

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Ladyfish74 thank you so much for posting this recipe! I used it for a cake my hubby & I made this weekend. :) I had him try it out of the bowl & he loved it! My 2 year old son said "MMMM Good"! This was great with the white & strawberry cakes I made!

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Thanks for all the great comments! I'm glad you and your customers are enjoying it. Colleend2006, I don't know why you couldn't use it with raspberries except that I don't think they have frozen raspberries in sugar the way they do with strawberries. You could probably add some powdered sugar to your cream cheese to counter balance the sugarless frozen berries and then use the raspberry jello. Let us all know how that turns out.

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Made a WASC with this filling and it was wonderful! I just wanted to eat it with a spoon. Held up terrific and was super delicious!!!

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I also had great results when i made it. I plan on piping it into cupcakes after they cool and it chills... and it is something you right to eat straight out of the bowl lol

i am sure everyone tomorrow will love them. I did chocolate cupcakes :-)

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I have a question. I plan on using this for a white cake filling. You mentioned frozen strawberries (thawed). So the straweberries would still be in pieces, right? Or do they break up when you mix it in the gelatin mixture? Also, if I cant find sweetned strawbeeries, what do I do? Also, how much is 1 16 oz package? 1 cup? 2 cups? I would really really appreciate your response. Thank you.

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Ok so I tried this, but I messed up...lol. When I went to the store for some reason I was thinking I needed 2 boxes of pudding and 1 box of jello. I went ahead and did it and just halved it. Mixed the pudding in with my cream cheese, and added about 1/2C of HWC. My client also didn't want whole strawberries, so I added 1C PS to the cream cheese as well. It's turned out amazingly still!! I can't wait to try this again and do it the RIGHT way!! Thanks Ladyfish!

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Kosha, you shouldn't have any trouble finding sweetened frozen strawberries. They come in a tub in the same section that you find Cool Whip and other frozen fruits. The strawberries are in pieces but if your client doesn't want pieces, then partially thaw the berries and run the whole thing through a food processor or blender before adding to the recipe. A 16oz tub of strawberries yields 2 cups. Jenni, I'm glad your mess up came out great anyway. You really tweaked it! I may have to try your version as well!

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This filling is amazing!!! I used it for a cake that I delivered to Austin, TX for my aunt's 60th birthday and everyone loved it. I had no problems with seeping from my buttercream dam, and that's cause it traved 5 hrs from McAllen to Austin. I had it in the fridge over night til I left and then box and traveled. I will use this whenever anyone wants a strawberry filling! Thank you for this!!

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I made this last week and it was a huge hit, has anyone tried this with other flavors, someone was asking about Bluberry instead of strawberry, I am thinking it should be good but wanted to bounce it of you guys first :)

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Ok you might have answered this question already but just so I know for sure. The strawberry tub is the one with the juices in the tub too?? Add the juices too?? Thx!

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ooooo this sounds amazing! what cake recipe(s) do you recommend most to go with it?? i have been struggling to find good combos and good cake recipes lately.

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Just made the filling but the texture is weird. It's like a strawberry flavored cottage cheese. I beat the cream cheese til fluffy, but when I added the strawberry mixture it seemed to separate a bit. What did I do wrong?!

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Tried it again and no problems! Not sure what happened the first time. Everyone raved about this... going to use it in a wedding cake in a few weeks!

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I would like to try using fresh frozen strawberries, what is the cut size of the frizen stawberries in the packaged one, is it like chopped or sliced strawberries?

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aerobiequeen: Mine did the same thing! It taste great but it looks like cottage cheese.....What did you do differently the 2nd time around? I also beat the CC until it was fluffy and once the strawberries were added 1/2 c at a time it came apart?!?!?

IDK plz help

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aerobiequeen-When you did it the first time was the cream cheese still less than room temperature? It needs to be really soft and not the least bit cold or it won't blend correctly. Yene131 I am not sure using fresh frozen strawberries will work. They don't have the juice or the sugar content that frozen, sweetened ones do. Without the sugar, the cream cheese will be too tart and without the liquid, the mixture might be rubbery instead of smooth. AC7417 Yes, the frozen, sweetened strawberries with the juice...add the whole thing. Jennifer 22780 It goes well with WASC or any white cake, strawberry cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake--lemon cake is really good...tastes like strawberry lemonade. Cinnamon cake might be good to try. I know that Strawberries and cinnamon go well together in other desserts so that might be one to test with the filling. Let us know if you come up with anything yummy!

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Ladyfish , Thank you for your recipe!! I was looking for a strawberry filling for a request and had tried one off of CC that was basically jam folded into to cool whip, and my two tier cake nearly bit the dust before I got it delivered! I needed something firmer yet tasty for my first wedding cake that I am doing for my brother May 28th. I wanted to make sure they liked the flavor so I made a small cake to take out for everyone to taste test for me. I DID use fresh sugared strawberries the first time and everyone loved it. By itself it had a little too much cream cheese bite for me (I'm picky lol) But then added together with the marble cake and buttercream frosting it was AMAZING!! Bride & Groom gave their thumbs up. lol I'm wanting to get started finishing my cakes for the wedding two days from now but was unsure if it could be frozen without breaking down. So I came back here and read through comments only to find that it CAN be frozen!! So off to fill cakes and start frosting!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

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OH! And i had left over from the half batch I did for my flavor test and used it again a week later for another cake only to find that the flavors had come together making it even more aromatic and tasty!!

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also, I'm going to use this along with the Strawberry Cake – WASC method (that is also on this site) but was also thinking about doing a lemon cake as well (for the top tier) do you think it would go well and do you have any suggestions on which lemon cake I should use?

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Yum, I use this a lot, have to tape my mouth shut so I don't eat it all. I use fresh strawberries so add a 1/2 cup of sugar to the gelatin and hot water and dissolve it all together. This does mean that the cake has to be refrigerated and there is about a 3-4 day life span for the filling.

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It was thin like you said but after an hour in the fridge it firmed up and tastes delicious! Can not wait to put this in between the layers of my white chocolate cake! yum! Thanks!

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momloveselectro...I would just use your favorite lemon cake recipe and I would imagine that you could use strawberry cream cheese but it is sweetened so the filling will be sweeter than normal if you do. Part of the beauty of this recipe is that it isn't too sweet and matches well with the sweetness of the cake. Unless you like things really sweet, I would just use the regular cream cheese. Ashton and butterfly30...it will keep it's texture in the frig for several days. If it starts to get weepy after a few days, you could try beating it until smooth and re-refrigerating it. I've never had it last that long in the frig...everybody always eats it....but it's worth a try.

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LOVE this filling. I found this recipe on Monday and I have already filled 2 cakes with it and I am doing a refrigerator pie with it for tomorrow! I love it!!! I halved it and it was enough to fill 2, 8 inch cakes with 3 layers of cake (2 filling layers) 2 thumbs up!

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jo3d33 - thanks for posting that you halved it! I was just wondering how much I needed for an 8" cake and the recipe seemed to be a lot!!

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Made this last weekend with strawberry cupcakes and it was delicious. It had the perfect cream cheese twang and was perfect for me because I have never liked the too sweet buttercreams.

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I'm making my sister's baby shower cake next month and I want to use this for the WASC. Since I live 3hrs away and her shower is on a Saturday we are leaving on Friday morning. Will the cake be ok if I put the filling on the cake early Friday morning? I'm going to be using MMF to cover the cake. Thanks so much.

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I made this filling yesterday for a wedding cake I am delivering today. I doubled the recipe and ended up with a ton of leftover filling. It is VERY good and I am not a huge fan of strawberries. I took the scraps from the cake (which normally go in the trash so I dont munch on them) and made a triffle. I woke up this morning and snuck a spoonful and it is better today than yesterday. I will be using this recipe again. Thank You!! PS: I added about a cup of sifted powdered sugar, delish!!

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Nina4....sorry I didn't check in sooner. Hope your cake turned out ok. It should have been fine especially if you chilled it for a little while before serving it. Great Idea TCDavis423, about making a trifle with the scraps. Great way to use up leftover WASC and filling....I always seem to have a lot of WASC left after leveling.

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What is the difference between frozen and fresh strawberries? Do the Fresh strawberries go bad faster? If I do use fresh can I make the filling the day before?

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Flores1234, the sweetened frozen stawberries are what should be used. The sugar and the liquid are necessary for the recipe to turn out right. It will be too thick and not sweet enough if you use fresh strawberries or frozen unsweetened strawberries.

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Thanks so much for this recipe Ladyfish74. It turned out great. Nice and firm like you say and it sure does taste great (especially right out of the bowl).

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Hi...I can't find strawberry gelatin nor jelo here. Is jelly crystal the same thing? Your gelatin is it sweetened? Can I use unflavoured gelatin instead? If yes, do I need to add sugar?

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Sorry, I originally posted this on your old recipe (I'm new to this forum), but meant to post it on your improved version. Here is my question:

Can I make this filling the day ahead, keep it in the refrigerator and then fill the cakes the following day?? If so, will I need to bring it to room temperature before using?? I have to make a birthday cake for Thursday and the request was for a chocolate cake with a strawberry cream cheese filling with buttercream icing – your filling sounds like it would be perfect for this.

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Never mind my previous comment I just went with the microwave since it was a minuscule amount of water...this filling is absolutely delicious thank you for sharing! It so nice n creamy with just the right amount of strawberry flavor ...I must say I was a little concerned it wasnt going to thicken up but it did and I can't stop sneaking spoonfuls haha.

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Ladyfish 74.  I plan on making a halloween cake that will consist of a few different cake styles.  The cakes will be frosted with cream cheese frosting and then covered with fondant.  This strawberry cream cheese sounds wonderful and I want to use it for the cake fillings.  Here are my questions:


1)  I am making the cakes days before I cover and decorate them with fondant.

2)  I will be putting the strawberry cream cheese filling inside the layers and frosting the cakes with regular cream cheese frosting.

3)  I plan I putting them in the freezer at that point.

4)  I plan on defrosting cakes in fridge over night so I can work on the cakes the day before the party.

5)  How will the strawberry cheesecake filling hold up in the freezer?  (can I freeze it?)

6)  Can I freeze the cake with the regular cream cheese frosting?

7)  Once the cakes are finished, should I refrigerate them or can they sit out overnight?

Thank you.

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The filling freezes really well and yes, you can leave it out overnight. Cream cheese won't spoil unless left out of the frig for 2 or 3 days.