Air fryers are fantastic for preparing treats like chicken wings, bacon, and crispy shrimp, but did you know you can also use one to make deliciously moist cakes? You can, and it’s much quicker and easier than you might expect.
You don’t need to use a recipe specifically designed for air fryers either, provided you make a few tweaks along the way. I made a three-tier air fryer cake using Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge recipe, a classic all-in-one with two eggs, two teaspoons of baking powder, and 9oz / 250g each of butter, caster sugar, and self-raising flour. I baked it in a Cosori TurboBlaze 6L, which is a compact single-drawer air fryer, but any model with a bake mode will work.
If you’ve been considering investing in an air fryer and the thought of quick, tasty cake has sealed the deal, take a look at our roundup of the best air fryers for our top recommendations. All modals are tested for cooking performance, ease of use, and speed of clean-up.
1. Pick the right cake pan (or muffin case)
There are a few common mistakes bakers tend to make when making a cake in an air fryer, but Margaret Rewers, R&D Culinary Supervisor at Cosori offers some recommendations that should help you get better results every time. For example, it’s a good idea to use multiple cake pans when making a cake in an air fryer.
“When making multilayer cakes or standard boxed cake mixes, we’ve found that it’s best to cook them in batches,” says Margaret. “Simply dividing the cake batter into two cake pans and baking them separately yields more evenly baked cakes.”
If you’re making cupcakes or muffins, Margaret recommends using individual cupcake cases rather than a muffin pan. “You can also bake using mini loaf pans in the air fryer, which is great when making banana bread or pumpkin bread,” she adds.
2. Choose the best temperature and mode
“Never bake according to the oven instructions when baking cakes in the air fryer,” warns Margaret. “The temperature difference can range from 25-50F. Time can also differ by about 10-15 minutes. If the box instructions say 350ºF [180ºC], try 300ºF [150ºC].
“The time it takes to bake a cake in an air fryer depends on the recipe, so it will really vary depending on what type of cake recipe you are using and how much cake batter the recipe yields.”
Mary Berry’s recipe suggested baking the Victoria sponge at 320ºF / 160ºC for a fan oven, so I dropped it to 285ºF / 140ºC, which worked well. Each layer baked in my 6-inch tin was ready in 15 minutes.
Make sure you use your air fryer’s dedicated Bake mode. On the Cosori TurboBlaze 6L, this has a lower fan speed than other settings, ensuring the thin cake batter doesn’t get blown around.
3. Pre-heat the pan
One of the most important things to do when baking a cake in an air fryer is to pre-heat your pan. Otherwise, the top of your cake will heat much faster than the bottom, and you could end up with something overdone on top, but raw underneath. As they say on The Great British Bake Off, nobody wants a soggy bottom. Use your air fryer’s pre-heat setting and put your pan on the crisper plate if you can.
“Baking on top of the crisper plate will ensure that heat gets circulated over and under the cake,” says Margaret. “If you’re using a cake pan with taller sides, then you will need to bake without the crisper plate to ensure the top of the cake doesn’t burn.”
4. Grease well and line
Don’t grease your cake pan before heating it – it might burn. Instead, while it’s pre-heating, either melt some butter in the microwave or grab a vegetable oil spray so you’re ready when it’s up to temperature. I also like to cut out a circle of baking parchment to fit the bottom of the pan.
Once the cake pan is nice and hot, remove it from the drawer using oven gloves, place it on a heatproof mat, and apply your butter or oil, ensuring you get it all the way up the sides. Now drop the circle of baking parchment into the bottom of the pan, if you’re using one. The oil or butter should hold it in place.
5. Add your batter carefully
Once the pan is greased, carefully pour in your cake batter. The heat of the pan might make it start to melt around the edges but don’t worry about it, just continue to pour. You don’t want to take too long over this, because the heated pan will begin to cool.
6. Do the skewer test
When your air fryer’s timer goes off, open the drawer and insert a clean metal skewer into the center of the cake. If the cake is cooked, it should come out clean with no more than a couple of crumbs sticking to it. If in doubt, close the drawer and bake the cake for another three to five minutes before checking again.
If your air fryer doesn’t have a window, resist the temptation to open the drawer early to peek at your cake. If it’s not cooked through, the structure will collapse and it’ll sink in the middle.
7. If at first you don’t succeed…
…fry, fry again. Another advantage of cooking your cake layers one at a time is that it doesn’t matter so much if the first one goes a bit wrong. If your first attempt is a bit too dry, reduce the cooking time a little. If it’s not entirely cooked through, leave it in a little longer, or make each layer thinner by using less batter.
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