How to make a fruity layer in layer cake?

[virgomama]

I am baking a 9 inch round layer cake for my mom's birthday tomorrow, and I would like to have a strawberry layer in the middle. I bought a jar of strawberry jam, and I'm wondering if I can just warm it slightly so it will spread easily and use it as is. Or should I combine it with another ingredient to thin it? Thanks for any advice!

[Ruthla]

I would just spread the jam as is. If you added water to thin it, you'd end up with a goopy layer in the middle of the cake that might get messy when you sliced the cake.

[LauraLoo]

If you care about how it looks and if you are icing the cake, too, you might want to add a circle of icing (piped is easiest) around the outer rim of the layer before you spread the jam on that layer. The weight of the top layer will push it out of the cake layer if you don't. Otherwise, don't put the jam all the way to the edge of the layer to allow for the spread once the top layer is placed on it.

I don't always care about how the cake looks, so gooey filling oozing out the middle is ok with me!

ETA: You might also want to freeze or chill the layer that you'll be putting the filling on so that it spreads easier across the cake. Leave the jam as is, and a chilled layer won't pull up pieces of the cake when you spread it across.

[virgomama]

Thanks for the great advice! I hadn't thought about the jam oozing out, so I'll leave room. The freezing is a great idea too!