Can You Bake A Good Cake In An Air Fryer?

In many cases, air fryers are a great alternative to a traditional oven. They're smaller, heat up quickly, and are easy to use like a microwave — but are also capable of cooking foods in a way that a microwave can't thanks to their use of convection heat. So long as you're okay with smaller-scale foods, an air fryer can do just about everything an oven can.

But can cakes made in an air fryer really be as good as ones made in ovens? The answer to that is a resounding yes. You can make delicious homemade-tasting cakes even if you're using boxed cake mix in an air fryer as long as you account for the differences between it and an oven. When baking with an air fryer, a good rule of thumb is to reduce your cooking time by 25% and your temperature by 25 degrees. So if a recipe calls for food to bake for one hour in a 350-degree oven, it should take 45 minutes in a 325-degree air fryer.

One other key difference is that there's less room in an air fryer as opposed to an oven, which makes accidental overcrowding easy. If you don't leave enough room, you can impede the flow of hot air circulating in the fryer, which then results in uneven cooking. Therefore, scaling down or cooking in batches is a smart idea. As long as you remember these two major points, you'll be making scrumptious air fryer cakes in no time.

If you're going to bake an air fryer cake, remember to keep an eye on it and recognize when it's done to ensure the final product comes out right. The 25/25 conversion rule isn't exact, and if you don't watch your cake, you may end up overcooking it by mistake. To check the cake, simply stick a toothpick in the middle; if it comes out clean with no batter clinging to the toothpick, the cake is ready to come out of the air fryer.

There are also some other common cake-baking mistakes you should be aware of that apply when baking with any appliance. Namely, not preparing the pan with grease and flour to help the cake release, frosting the cake before it's cooled, and adding too much batter into the pan for sunken or overly dense results. If you're used to baking, these should be old hat, but it's still worth it to get a reminder every now and again.

Ultimately, you don't need to deal with conventional ovens to bake anymore. Now, a delicious cake is just a few button presses away, so long as you mind key details. And it's not just cake that can turn out well in this appliance. You can bake cookies in an air fryer, too, along with brownies, cupcakes, or any of your other favorite baked goods.