Can't find any videos to show me what it is or how and when to use one.
TIA.

Here's what it is:
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30ACBE-475A-BAC0-505CDCE7A4EA25E5&killnav=1

You use it for larger size cakes so that it bakes more evenly.

You put it in the middle of your layer and pour batter around it (and in it to make a plug for the hole that will be in the middle of the cake).

Some people use inverted flower nails instead. Some people use baking strips (my preference). I do use the heating core in my pillow pans.

I also prefer baking strips and inverted flower nails to heating cores. For one thing, you run the risk of a lot of cake sticking to them if you don't handle them just right. But also, I've never found the need for one. In fact, I hardly ever use the flower nails, either. Baking strips do the job for me!

http://www.ladycakes.com/heating_core.htm

To every one who replied. Not sure I will need one but it's nice to know how to use it if I do. Thanks

I just don't understan d alll the hoopla about having to use heating cores. For over 30 yrs I (and I dare say many 1000s of other bakers) baked many 1000s of cake w/o one and seldom had a problem. Yes, there is always the very occasional cake that might fall a bit in the center - I always chalked it up to old cake mix (I'm a strictly box mix baker). The largest cake I bake is 16" rounds and Yes, many, many of them w/o a single flower nail or core.

I'm with you kakeladi. I tried the cake core in the beginning but with my cakes.. i bake from scratch,...my cakes would bake up perfectly except the cake inside the core. It would rise look nice then fall and sink. The minute I stopped using it everything was fine.