Can You Make A Cake In The Air Fryer? | Safe Bake Rules

Air Fryer Cake Basics

Home cooks often wonder about air fryer cake in many home kitchens because the basket looks small and the fan sounds intense. An air fryer is just a compact convection oven, where a fan pushes hot air around a tight space so food cooks faster and browns quickly.

That strong airflow helps a cake rise and set, but it can also dry the top or leave the middle raw if the settings are off. The trick is to use a slightly lower temperature than you would in a regular oven, plus a gentle bake so the crumb cooks all the way through.

Pan size matters. You need a pan that fits flat inside the basket with enough room for air to move around the sides. A 6 to 7 inch round pan, a small loaf pan, or several silicone cupcake molds usually fit well in most medium air fryers.

Air Fryer Vs Oven For Cake

The table below compares the way an air fryer handles cake against a traditional oven. Use it as a quick guide before you plan your first air fryer bake.

Factor	Air Fryer	Regular Oven
Heat Source	Small space with strong fan that moves hot air constantly	Large cavity with still air unless fan mode is turned on
Preheat Time	Only a few minutes to reach 160–170°C (320–340°F)	Often 10–15 minutes to reach the same temperature
Best Temperature For Cake	Around 160°C / 320°F for most simple sponge or box mixes	Often 175–180°C / 350–355°F for the same batter
Batch Size	One small pan or a few cupcakes per bake	Several full size pans or two layers at once
Browning	Top browns fast; may need foil cover halfway through	More even, gentle browning across the whole surface
Energy Use	Lower, thanks to fast preheat and small space	Higher, because the oven heats a much larger cavity
Best Use Case	Small cakes, quick desserts, test batches, hot climates	Layer cakes, large parties, detailed decorating projects

Making A Cake In Your Air Fryer: Key Rules

If you keep a few simple rules in mind, air fryer cake turns from a guess into a repeatable treat. Think about your pan, batter, temperature, time, and how you check doneness.

Choose The Right Pan And Batter

Pick a pan that is oven safe, fits inside the basket, and leaves a bit of space around the sides. Many cooks use a 6 inch round pan, a small springform, or a set of silicone molds. Any standard cake batter works, from box mix to homemade sponge, as long as you mix only until the lumps are gone.

Set Temperature And Time

Because an air fryer behaves like a tiny convection oven, many baking experts suggest dropping the oven recipe temperature by about 15–25°F and baking for a similar or slightly longer time. In practice, a bake setting near 160°C or 325°F works well for most air fryer cakes, a range also recommended in guides from King Arthur Baking.

Check Cake Doneness Safely

Air flow in the basket can make the top look done before the center sets. Use a toothpick or thin skewer in the middle; if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs, the cake is ready. If it comes out with wet batter, give the cake another 3–5 minutes at the same temperature and check again.

Food safety groups stress that cooked food should reach safe internal temperatures so harmful bacteria do not grow. National charts on safe minimum internal temperatures advise heating mixed dishes to at least 74°C / 165°F in the center, so a simple thermometer probe can help with extra dense cakes that hold a lot of egg or dairy, as shown on the guidance at FoodSafety.gov.

Can You Make A Cake In The Air Fryer? Step-By-Step Method

Once you know how your appliance behaves, can you make a cake in the air fryer? turns from a question into a simple routine. Use this general method with your favorite vanilla or chocolate sponge batter.

Step 1: Prepare The Pan And Basket

Grease the pan with oil or softened butter, then line the base with a circle of baking paper. If you use a springform pan, wrap the base in foil so thin batter does not drip into the basket, and check that you can lift the pan in and out comfortably with oven mitts.

Step 2: Mix The Batter

Follow your recipe or box mix instructions, using about half to two thirds of the batter that would fill a standard 20 cm or 8 inch pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan until it sits around halfway up the side, then tap the pan lightly on the counter to pop large air bubbles. If your basket is tall, you can pour a little deeper, but check the center more often near the end.

Step 3: Preheat And Bake

Preheat the air fryer to 160°C / 320°F on a bake or cake setting if your model has one. Set the initial bake time for 20 minutes, slide the pan into the basket, close the drawer, and let the cake bake without opening the fryer for at least 15 minutes so the structure can rise and set.

Step 4: Rotate, Cover, And Finish

At the 15–20 minute mark, check the top. If one side browns more than the other, rotate the pan so it bakes evenly. If the top looks dark while the center still feels soft, tent a small piece of foil over the cake to shield the surface from direct fan heat, then keep baking in 3–5 minute bursts until the center tests done.

Step 5: Cool And Serve

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes, then loosen the sides with a thin spatula and turn it out onto a rack. Cool completely before frosting so buttercream or glaze does not melt straight off the surface.

Best Types Of Cake For Air Fryer Baking

Almost any cake recipe can be adapted to an air fryer with a bit of testing, but some styles suit the compact basket and strong air flow especially well. Start with simple recipes that you already trust from the oven before you try more delicate styles.

Box Mix And Simple Sponge Cakes

Standard box mix cake works well in the air fryer, because it is designed to be forgiving with timing and temperature. Plain vanilla sponge, chocolate sponge, and marble batter also behave nicely, with enough fat and sugar to stay tender while still holding shape in the strong air flow.

Dense Cakes And Styles To Avoid At First

Dense batters such as pound cake, banana cake, or carrot cake give a tight crumb that can handle a longer bake in the air fryer, as long as you drop the temperature slightly and watch the top. At the same time, cake styles that rely on high rise from whipped egg whites, like chiffon or angel food, can dry out fast in the fan, so leave those for later once you know your settings.

Troubleshooting Common Air Fryer Cake Problems

Even with care, the first few cakes might not look perfect. Use this troubleshooting table to match what you see with simple fixes for the next bake.

Problem	Likely Cause	Easy Fix
Top burnt, middle raw	Temperature too high or pan too close to heater	Lower heat by 10–15°C, move pan down, tent with foil
Cake sinks in the middle	Basket opened too early or underbaked center	Wait at least 15 minutes before first check; add bake time
Dry or tough crumb	Overbaked at high heat or batter overmixed	Drop temperature, shorten time, mix only until combined
Uneven browning	Fan blowing more on one side of the pan	Rotate pan halfway and check basket for level placement
Edges stuck to pan	Insufficient greasing or hot spots on sides	Grease and line pan fully; cool longer before unmolding
Cake overflows	Pan too small or filled too high	Fill pan only halfway; bake extra batter as cupcakes
Wet layer at base	Condensation from hot steam or underbaked center	Cool on rack, then return to fryer for a brief bake if needed

Adjust For Your Specific Air Fryer

No two appliances behave exactly the same. Some run hotter than the display says, while others hold heat more gently. Treat your first few cakes as test bakes, jot down the settings that give the color and texture you like, and note how long each size of pan takes in your machine.

Once you have a sense of your model, you can adapt almost any simple oven cake recipe by lowering the temperature, watching the top, and extending the time in short steps.

Simple Air Fryer Cake Formula You Can Reuse

To put the advice into practice, start with this flexible formula that turns one bowl of batter into a neat, small cake sized for an air fryer basket.

Core Ratios For A Small Air Fryer Cake

Use these approximate ratios as a guide for a 6 inch round pan. You can scale up slightly for a deeper pan or bake two layers in separate rounds.

• 120 g all purpose flour
• 120 g caster sugar
• 120 g softened butter or neutral oil
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2–3 tablespoons milk to loosen the batter

Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs one by one, then fold in dry ingredients and milk. The batter should fall from the spoon in a slow ribbon; if it feels too thick, add a small splash of milk, and if it feels runny, sprinkle in a spoon of flour.

Once you like the base texture, you can spin it into chocolate, citrus, or spice cake without changing the method. Replace part of the flour with cocoa powder, add grated lemon or orange zest, or stir in warm spices along with the dry ingredients.

So, Is Air Fryer Cake Worth It?

For small households, hot weather days, or late night dessert cravings, can you make a cake in the air fryer? has a friendly answer. You save on preheat time, skip heating a full oven, and still bring a soft, flavorful cake to the table.

With a pan that fits, a moderate temperature, and patient checks near the end of baking, an air fryer handles cake batter just as well as many compact ovens. After a few test runs, it also turns into one more handy way to bake on busy days.