Hello awesome CC friends!
I just got an order today for a barbie cake....I don't have the wonder mold pan but I do have the pampered chef bowl. Now....I know I can use this, but I don't have a heating core and don't know how to bake it properly. Also...I will have to torte it or something because the momreally wants the cake to be yellow w/ Choc filling. Suggestions please!!!
Also....how cool is this....this is an order from my guitar cake about a month ago that I was pretty frustrated with 
Yippee
TIA
I found a web site that has directions for qa barbie doll cake not using the wondermold check it out and it looks like you will be able to add a filling too. http://cakefun.blogspot.com/
I was thinking of making a cake with the pampered chef bowls also but am unable to figure out a good way to get a heating core through it so the top (large part) cooks as well as the bottom (small part)
But then I got to thinking. And this way may work better for you if you want fillings in it. I was going to make round cakes in graduated sized. I was thinking an 8" two 6" and then a 3 or 4" Stack them (filling in between) Then freeze, once frozen or chilled well just trim the cake into the shape I want for the dress. Not sure if this will work for you but just another suggestion.
I've baked in a pyrex bowl without the heating core...no problems. It's a little wider than the pc batter bowl. I stacked the bowl cake on top of a cake I baked in a tube pan. They were the same diameter so it worked great for doll cakes. You wouldn't have to trim anything and you'd only have to cut a hole through one of the cakes.
I used to sell pc products...so of course I had to try baking in the bowls since it was a big way to sell lots of those bowls!! Can't tell you how many cakes I made with them...let's see: watermelon, beach ball, doll cake, pumpkin. For the watermelon I tinted the mix red and added mini choc. chips, for the beach ball i used confetti cake mix and just carved it into a really round shape before icing, but for the doll cake: you have to make sure that you cut a hole in it all the way to the bottom before you frost it...or it could start to break.
As far as cooking the actual cake, I never use any kind of heating core or flower nail, etc. I just set my oven at 300 instead of 350....it takes alot longer, but this way the top (or what will eventually be the bottom) isn't burnt before the middle of the cake is done, and it also doesn't dome up as much - something that really can't be avoided when using the pc bowls. But the dome isn't that big a deal since you have to level it anyway for it to sit right and be level on your cake board. Make sure you fill the bowl with a little more batter than you think it would need or than the pc directions that came with the bowl call for. I fill mine about 2/3 or more full...then I put a cookie sheet on the lower rack to catch any spillover batter....which there almost always is. If you don't put enough batter in the bowl, you'll end up with a much smaller cake than you need or thought you'd get.
Another option some pc reps use when making these cakes for their shows is to cover the cake/bowl lightly with foil after the top has browned to your liking. Sometimes I do this....just lay a piece of foil on it, don't wrap it tight.
Also important - make sure you grease and flour the bowl extremely well - or use plenty of cake release or whatever you prefer to use. And there's a little indentation on the inside of the bowl where the handle meets the bowl.....don't forget to get those spots too. When the cake comes out of the oven this is what i do: I sit the bowl on a cake rack and let cool for no more than 10 minutes....then I take my small offset spatula (it bends a little).....and I go around between the cake and the bowl, pressing my spatula against the bowl and downward...the spatula is flexible enough to sort of conform to the shape of the bowl and not cut into the cake...it just helps loosen any spots that might be sticking a little bit...but the bottom (or what will be the top) is just luck!! You have to just hope that when you turn it out onto your rack or plate that it hasn't stuck to the bowl!! After I've made sure the sides are loose from the bowl - I place my cooling rack on top of the bowl and flip it. Then wait maybe 5 minutes and go ahead and level it - as long as it's not still steaming hot - this way you can have a really flat surface for it to sit on and cool the rest of the way. Once completely cool - carve out your hole in the middle for the doll to go in....then if you want to torte it for filling, just cut in half horizontally, do an icing dam and put your filling in...place other half on top, insert your doll and decorate.
I know this was long, but since I've had lots of experience with these bowls I thought I'd share all I know in hopes that it helps you out!!
Jenn
Jenn, I appreciate your detailed reply. I had been wanting to try this, however when I talked to a couple of PC consultants in my area neither of them were sure how to answer. I will try this and use all of your tips.
Approximately how long did you end up baking it for? Also how much over 2/3 did you fill the bowl? Any more specifics will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
Leily
Glad I could help, leily! I bake mine for 40 minutes then check on it....I have an extra long, really thin metal cake tester (pc product) that I use to test the doneness in the middle. It usually needs a few more minutes, so I just let it cook at 5 minute intervals and keep checking...usually no more than another 10 minutes or so is needed. (I have to do this because I have an old oven that's not exactly reliable.) But I would say if you have a good oven...bake it for 45 min - 1hr. Sometimes I also just jiggle the bowl gently and you can tell by how much the cake moves in the middle how done it is or isn't.
As far as filling the bowl with batter: I fill it AT LEAST 2/3 full, but most of the time come slightly closer to 3/4 full....if that makes sense...lol. Keep in mind that the more batter you use, the more spill over you'll have, hence the cookie sheet on the lower rack of the oven. But I find that filling it this way results in a cake almost the exact size of the bowl instead of one much smaller than what you'd hoped for. I use what spills over onto the cookie sheet and bakes for goodies for my kids to munch on!
The only other tip I can think of is don't follow the directions that come with the bowl for baking a cake in it. If I remember correctly, the actual recipe is for a doll cake! lol The first time I did it I followed the directions perfectly and the cake came out smaller and it was overcooked on the top and dried out....
But this is for the smaller pc batter bowl....the larger bowl will take one whole cake mix....but I still mixed up two and added more to the bowl until I had it close to 3/4 full when I used the large bowl & made cupcakes with the leftover.
Jenn
yep, gma....the classic batter bowl....large & small sizes - they both work great. And the resulting shape is almost identical to the wondermold thingy. The only difference is that the large (or regular) batter bowl is much larger than the wondermold....the smaller batter bowl has the same shape, just on a smaller scale.
Also - I found with the larger bowl, I needed to do a little trimming to get the shape just right for the "dress" part of the doll cake, but not much.
PC used to post this recipe on their website, don't know if it's still there because they tend to rotate what's popular and goes along with their featured products at the time. That might be why your local pc reps weren't familiar with the recipe or way of using the bowl this way, leily. I repped for them when they were "re-introducing" the bowl with its new lid, etc....and the recipe for the doll cake (which came along with the product when you bought it) was new for pc as well. But they're constantly changing their product line-up and what's featured. Let me check out their website and see if I can find it for you.....
Jenn
ok ladies....I'm sure I look like a dunce now, 
but....they've changed the whole recipe!!! Now they call for 2 whole cake mixes!! From reading the recipe, you bake two cakes (1 mix, then the other) to make a two tiered skirt....Completely different than what it was when I was selling for them!! 
I, however, would still add more cake batter until it's almost 3/4 full.
Oh well - For the classic batter bowl (the large or reg. size) they call for baking for 1 hr 10 - 1 hr 15 min. I would still try turning the temp down to 300 and/or placing some foil over the top when it's browned just right.
They say to bake two cakes; level the widest end to sit flat; then cut off and level the rounded bottom (now the top) of the cake....next take the 2nd cake and level the widest end of it and place on top of the first....thus making a two-tierd skirt!!?? Wish they posted a pic of what it's supposed to look like!!
Here's the link:
http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/recipesearch/recipedetail.jsp
Hope that helps! Really hope I haven't just confused everyone now!!! 
Helpful hint I learned by accident. I needed to bake two cakes at once, both the same size, both chocolate, only one had coffee flavoring. I didn't want to confuse the cakes after I pulled them out of the oven, so I stuck and rolled up piece of foil (about the exact size of a forefinger) into the cake with the coffee flavoring. What I learned was that this serves as an excellent heating core, helps the cake bake well!
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