31 Cake Filling Recipes to Level Up Your Cakes

You can probably tell by the name of this cake filling flavor that it’s going to be an amazing treat. It's my favorite chocolate flavor cake filling and frosting all in one, and is always a fun surprise for guests. 

This is pure chocolate indulgence, similar to my chocolate fountain recipe in that it's made with just 2 ingredients: heavy cream and chocolate. This chocolate ganache filling is rich, fudgy, thick, and incredibly chocolatey - it’ll turn any sponges, quickbreads, cupcakes, or bundts into a delectable bite.

When you’ve got yourself some spare chocolate ganache, whip up a batch of cooled chocolate ganache to turn into this light, fluffy and delicious cake filling. It’s incredibly rich and decadent from a 1:1 ratio of good quality chocolate and heavy cream. 

Beginners can easily take on this recipe because all you have to do is simply melt chocolate you've chopping up into some warmed cream, then balance out the richness of cacao with sea salt. This whipped cake filling idea is an easy, spreadable, and butter-free alternative to chocolate buttercream in cakes, crepes, and your favorite chocolate snacks. 

Feel free to swap ingredients to make it vegan like using vegan chocolate, or make it Keto and Paleo-friendly by using Keto-friendly chocolate. 

Fudge frosting is actually a hybrid of chocolate ganache and buttercream icing. So no, it’s nothing like lathering your cake in a layer of hot fudge sauce (although that sounds yummy, too). 

Imagine all of the goodness of buttercream frosting blended with the richness and decadence of chocolate. This frosting definitely defines indulgence. 

I’m particularly keen on a decadent and dark fudge frosting compared to making a lighter-colored one, so just a friendly tip: use Dutch processed cocoa powder if you have it. If not, you can check out these cocoa powder substitutes for some alternatives.

Much like the previous chocolate ganache recipe, white chocolate ganache can be turned into a spreadable and stable whipped chocolate ganache filling. All you need is to make a simple and easy ganache from melted chocolate chips and heavy cream. 

You can also try using blonde chocolate for a deep caramel twist on the usual. Whipped caramelized white chocolate ganache is an excellent alternative to whipped cream frosting as cake filling for cheesecakes, shortcake, cupcakes, and pies. 

Never EVER use store-bought lemon curd with this recipe again. It’s so simple to make, you can achieve the perfect tang and texture without much extra work. Best of all, you’re free from that medicinal aftertaste that commercial brands can often have.

You’ll want to keep making this fruity cake filling recipe again & again to lather atop of cakes, bars, muffins, scones, and even vanilla yogurt bowls. For more tangy treats to use citrus curds in, check out some of these lime desserts or bright yellow desserts.

Fruity, tart, with hints of floral, homemade raspberry jam is an excellent cake filling. It adds a pop of brightness to the cake while lending amazing texture - sticky, semi-jellied, with bits of raspberry seeds and fruits strewn in. 

In fact, without any additional preparation (if you already have it in the fridge) you can just layer it in between buttercream frosting and cake layers. The frosting will hold it in place and distribute the flavor better.

While strawberry mousse is a dessert on its own, it can also make a cake more indulgent. This strawberry mousse recipe is light, and airy with a touch of sweetness and a slight tang. 

Amp up any chocolate cake with a strawberry mousse filling or layered strawberry mousse and vanilla chiffon. Sounds wonderful? They taste even better. 

Add a burst of berry flavor to your cakes with this mixed berry compote cake filling recipe. It's sweet, fruity, and also ideal for drizzling over scones or muffins and topping in pies, cheesecakes or pound cake, if you have any leftover. 

A chantilly cream cake or any type of naked cake are the perfect stages for mixed berry compote to shine. Just like a jam, sandwich it with a thick frosting to hold it in place. 

While a coulis is primarily a sauce and will likely be too runny for a cake unless you edd some pectin, it keeps cupcakes moist. Mango coulis also adds sweetness and a bit of tang to cupcakes with a bright yellow color. 

When using coulis in cakes, you can pour it over your frosting for a nice drip-cake effect. There are so many ways to swap mango coulis for regular buttercream, so go ahead and explore the possibilities, especially with the addition of fresh fruits.

This creamy coconut cake filling will bring that tropical vibe into your cakes, pairing beautifully with other tropical fruits. It adds a sweet, creamy, and unique taste into desserts like coconut cream pies and cakes either on its own or with other fruits like mango, passion fruit, lemon, or berries, or even chocolate.   

Cremay coconut cake filling is simply delicious with gorgeous flavor - just try it for yourself.

I love good colorful cakes of all shapes and sizes, but there’s something about purple cakes that makes me excited. Maybe it’s because you can’t get this beautiful purple color from any other fruit or vegetable than the purple yam, also known as ube. 

Ube is an excellent flavor for cakes and other sweet treats, like ube lattes, similar to its sweet potato cousin. In particular, this purple yam buttercream has a creamy flavor with a pleasantly earthy and nutty vibe. Bursting with the exotic flavor and a vibrant purple hue, your cake will be a showstopper with a purple ube filling. 

Imagine the union of a Whatchamacallit chocolate candy bar and chocolate ganache cake. As outrageous as it may seem, this over-the-top meringue filling absolutely works! 

The chunky, nutty, creamy cake filling sets it apart from the rest of the pack. The texture is as extraordinary as the flavor; the recipe uses milk chocolate but feel free to use any type of chocolate you prefer like dark chocolate or even raw chocolate. 

Turn the popular hazelnut spread Nutella into an irresistible frosting for an up-to-date chocolate cake or a banana cake. The cake filling is made richer with cocoa powder and Nutella (or gianduja) combined.

If you don’t have either of these in your pantry you can try to substitute chocolate or make a homemade gianduja, which is an Italian chocolate hazelnut spread. You’ll enjoy the nutty, smooth, and creamy texture when filled into the fluffiest of cakes. Simply delicious, with plenty leftover for other nutella desserts or hazelnut desserts you can make at home.

This nut cake filling idea is a must try, if desserts with nuts are your thing. A homemade walnut filling offers a chunky, nutty, creamy, gooey goodness to your cakes and other sweet desserts. Paired with a whipped cake frosting, it will turn your ordinary rum cake or angel food cake into a gastronomic delight.

Indulge in the richness of roasted peanuts with this decadent peanut butter cake filling. This recipe is for a cake with filling, but pay attention to the creamy, spreadable, and supremely delicious cake filling, and feel free to tweak it to suit your tastes. 

I personally want my peanut butter flavor to shine through - perfectly nutty, not too sweet with a bit of saltiness but delightfully creamy. It’s not only perfect for layering yellow or healthy dark chocolate cakes and banana cupcakes but also with a good cup of hot chocolate or cacao tea. 

Swiss meringue buttercream (also known as 7-minute frosting) is the classic and most used buttercream for cakes. Whether you plan to make a gorgeous unicorn cake or funfetti cake, this frosting and filling in one is all you need. 

This versatile and stable cake filling joins cake layers while giving it a sweet, creamy and fluffy texture, as well as a gorgeous facade for decorating. 

French buttercream is the little black dress of cake fillings. Just as anything French does, it easily adds elegance and decadence to any cake. It sets itself apart from the other buttercreams (Swiss, Italian, German, American, etc.) because the consistency and flavor is closer to a crème pâtissière (pastry cream). 

You can use it to layer your cakes and make the most fancy desserts for any celebration without the extra work (or cost!). 

If you’re feeling fancy, you can also call it chantilly cream. This light, fluffy, vanilla-scented frosting is perfect for filling cakes, frosting cupcakes and topping crepes. 

You can adjust the sweetness by reducing the sugar in the recipe or use a sugar substitute if you like. Adjust the sweetness to allow your cake sponge or pie filling to shine through. 

Popular in many Latin American desserts, this cake filling recipe will breathe soul into your sweet treat. Dulce de leche is simply heated up sweetened condensed milk, though you can also add a chocolate twist wiht some cocoa powder to make brigadeiro. 

When condensed milk is heated it yields a delectably sweet, thick, light brown concoction that has a slight burnt caramel taste. The spread is delicious on its own, but also great to spread on layered cakes, meringue sheets, shortcakes, or quickbreads. 

Custard filling is similar to pudding in that it's smooth and creamy, though I think of it as more of a British pudding. Though an egg custard can be an actual dessert on its own, it’s also a wonderful topping or filling for cakes, pies, and various pastries.

This creamy, pudding-like, sweet filling is wonderful in a Creme Brulee Cake, Boston Cream cake (yep, it’s a donut inspired cake), or a Brazo de Mercedes.

Fan of anything & everything marshmallow? Then this cake filling technique is for you - marshmallow icing is a good no-butter cake frosting or filling option. It’s spreadable, so it’s easy to lather in between cake sponge, but the taste and texture is so light it’s like biting into a cloud. Think campfire cookies, s’mores cupcakes, or beehive cakes. 

Slightly sweet and salty but oh-so-creamy, this filling makes for the perfect addition to countless cakes. It’s lighter than buttercream so it’s perfect for those who don't want that slightly greasy taste or heaviness of buttercream. With a hint of tang that's balanced out by sweetness and velvetiness, it’s typically used for red velvet, lemon cake, or carrot cake. 

This “better than good” cheese makes for a sumptuous smooth, fluffy, whipped cake filling. Its rich, creamy texture and palatable flavor gives cannolis that extra indulgence or turn ordinary fruit into a luxe trea, and it does the same for other desserts. It's also perfect for a rich and indulgent lathering onto cakes, especially a nice berry layer cake.

Just like many Japanese desserts, this matcha-flavored cake filling isn’t too sweet. In fact, it perfectly embodies the earthy, grassy, vegetal notes of matcha powder. When this green tea powder is turned into a cake filling it's extremely flavorful and creamy - not too sweet with a slightly bitter after taste. 

I love a good matcha recipe - if you’re like me, you’ll love this matcha dalgona recipe or why not a blue matcha latte?

Whip up an elegant and delicately flavored celebration cake with this unique lavender frosting. Lavender buttercream frosting lends a hint of floral flavor and aroma with subtle notes of mint and herbs that are reminiscent of spring desserts and Easter. 

Or why not whip up tea cookies or a naked cake lathered with lavender icing and garnished with edible botanicals for a Mother’s Day dessert? This cake filling will surely get you some well deserved oohs and aahs. 

Ever heard of cookie dough cake filling? Well it’s not a huge thing outside of the stuffed croissant craze, but it can be done. Take this cake for example - the cake is the ultimate cookie lover’s delight, from the giant chocolate chip cookie layers to the raw chocolate chip cookie dough filling and finally a salted caramel icing.

Cookie dough cake filling is a delightful and decadent addition, not just for this cake but for any cake your heart desires. The novelty of this cake filling flavor is surpassed by the heavenly bites of raw cookie dough heaven. 

Make your cookie batter as usual, but make the cookie dough without eggs. Then you can fold in mix-ins like cacao nibs, sugar-free chocolate chips or even java chips for an added layer of texture and flavor, and you have a cake filling that pairs wonderfully with chocolate or vanilla cakes.  

Love ooey gooey salted caramel? It doesn’t just go well on plain old vanilla ice cream, but also makes a chocolate cake even more sinful, especially if swirled into the buttercream. 

Aside from that you can use salted caramel sauce for caramel apples, pancake drizzles, sticky bun toppings and so much more. Treat yourself to this delightful, homemade salted caramel sauce that’s super simple to make at home.

Elevate your desserts with this indulgent brown butter maple frosting - it’s a rich and delectable frosting that lends itself well to quickbreads, bundt cakes, and yellow cakes. 

Spread the filling between cake layers, adding a rich and distinctive sweet toffee caramel flavor to each bite. It's also perfect for fall-themed sweets like carrot cake, pumpkin cake, or apple cake.

Take any dessert to the next level with this Kahlua espresso buttercream frosting, made with espresso granules for an extra kick. This goes beyond your regular American buttercream, both in flavor and strength. 

The coffee makes it not too sweet, while the rum-based Kahlua liqueur accentuates the coffee flavor. This incredibly delicious frosting is lush, smooth and pillowy soft, making it perfect for cupcakes and cakes.

To be frank, it’s a toss up between this and my Kahlua coffee butter recipe for my dessert boards. I love the thick and creamy icing flavor for crackers and pretzel rods, but love the spiked butter for brioche breads.

Every baker needs a vegan buttercream recipe in their arsenal, because we never know when we'll need it. This vegan buttercream recipe makes a thick and absolutely delicious cake filling when made using good quality vegan butter. 

Did I mention that it’s dairy-free, too? Use it to frost or fill a cake, top cookies, chocolate crepes, and other pastries with it. Enjoy lathering or piping them onto your sweet-flavored fantasies.