Hi guys!
Im trying to use a stainless steel mixing bowl to make a cake in. i am using 2 box mixes Duncan Hines Marble Fudge. Im having trouble with it coming out right. its really dense and im out of ideas! i have no idea what to do to get it to come out fluffy and edible! Does anyone have an experience with this? Ive tried cooking it on 325 and just keeping an eye on it but that hasnt worked at all.

Sounds like your bowl is WAY too big to bake all the way through. You need to split the batter

Take out your round cake pans and find the pan that is the same size as the most open part of the bowl. Bake that layer using a magic cake strip to keep it as flat as possible.

Bake the rest of the cake in your bowl, using a little more batter because you will get a hump regardless of how you bake it. But make sure the batter is no more than 3" deep in the middle of the bowl, or you will have the same trouble you are having now.

When you level and sandwich the cakes together, you will have the bowl shape after you do a tiny amount (less than 1/2 inch) of trimming off the edge of the flat layer.

I bake in a bowl when I have to make a dome shape. I bake in bowls up to 8" across but anything bigger really has to be split to bake properly. No a heating core won't help when the bowl is 6" deep...

The wondermold is a mold that holds a full mix and is about 5 inches deep. It uses a narrow heating core and works well. You might want to start with that and follow those instructions. Been done forever. The heating core is the key. They are viewable at Wilton.

The OP says they are using 2 cake mixes.

I agree that the Wonder Mold does fine but it is ONE mix and the narrow end is so much smaller than my steel bowls.

True. If it's that big, sculpting from rounds makes the most sense.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU GUYS!!! I will try this as soon as i get home!

Stainless steel does not conduct heat as well as aluminium or the alloys. It could develop hotspots, and it will need longer to bake ..