During this scorching heat, what’s a home baker to do? Having the oven switched on to satisfy a craving for sponge cake will have your air conditioning on overdrive, or your fan blowing around powdered sugar. But I won’t let the high temperatures stop me from baking, so I put aside my reservations and tried to make some cupcakes in an air fryer.
Could this countertop appliance that I rely on for crisping fries and grilling burgers bake a decent cake? The answer is a resounding yes, but you will have to make some changes.
Here’s exactly what happened when I baked a batch of lemon cupcakes in my air fryer, along with expert advice on mastering the countertop bake.
How I made lemon cupcakes in an air fryer
Lemon cupcakes are the ultimate refreshing summer treat and happen to be one of my family’s favorite go-to sweet treats.
I often search online for recipes, and I found an Easy lemon muffin recipe at BBC Good Food. What’s brilliant about this particular recipe is that all of the batter ingredients can be tipped into a single bowl and mixed in one go. You can do this by hand or with one of the best stand mixers; either way, as long as your butter is soft, you won’t break a sweat.
The recipe calls for a muffin tray, which is a non-starter for my compact Cuisinart Clearview Air Fryer. To improvise, I doubled up my paper cupcake liners for extra stability. Luckily, they held up well when I spooned in the batter.
After preheating the air fryer to 200°C (390°F) for four minutes, I then carefully placed the cupcake cases into the glass basket, but I could only bake five at a time.
Knowing that air fryers run hotter and faster than conventional ovens, I selected ‘Bake’ mode, at 160°C (320°F) for 15 minutes — 20°C lower and 15 minutes shorter than the original bake time.
I had a massive advantage during this bake thanks to my air fryer’s design. Because of its glass viewing window, I had a full view of the action. Unlike standard air fryer models, I didn’t have to pull the basket to see how the bake was progressing.
At the 11-minute mark, I noticed the tops had started to brown. By 15 minutes, I was satisfied they were perfectly cooked.
What I noticed when cooking cupcakes in an air fryer
Although you can cook cupcakes in an air fryer, I did notice a few differences between this method and using a traditional oven.
1. You have to reduce the cooking time and temperature.
2. Forget about making a big cake.
3. The final shape is a little different and may need disguising with icing.
4. The bake was just as moist.
I’d be happy to continue baking in an air fryer, although I won’t be taking on any elaborate challenges. But be warned, even though they didn’t look as appetizing as when baked in a traditional oven, they still tasted delicious.
What do the professionals think about air fryer baking?
I was able to prove that you can bake a cake in an air fryer, though many factors differ from using an oven. To help you navigate them and ensure a perfect bake every time, I reached out to some baking pros for their insider advice.
Can baking a cake in an air fryer deliver the same results as an oven?
You can definitely bake a cake in an air fryer, but experts say it’s not a straight swap.
“The result is not that air fryers bake worse; it is that they bake differently,” explains Andreas Hansen, founder at Fritaire. “Dense, moist batters like brownies, banana bread, pound cake, and lava cakes perform genuinely well. Tall, delicate sponges that depend on a slow, even rise are where a conventional oven still wins.”
Isaac Bernal Carbajo, executive chef, explains, “The moving air shoves loose batter around before it can set, which is why delicate sponges and anything chiffon-adjacent are a bad bet. What you do get is speed, no long preheat, and a lovely crust on sturdier bakes.”
The result is not that air fryers bake worse; it is that they bake differently
Andreas Hansen, Fritaire
Minoo Mahdavian, founder at MinooMakesStuff, says, “Many people treat an air fryer like a multipurpose ‘little oven’, when it’s actually closer to a wind tunnel with a heating element parked right above your cake.”
How an air fryer actually works
It helps to know how an air fryer works to understand why it produces different results from a conventional oven. Hansen explains the three main differences.
Proximity to heat: “The heating element sits much closer to the food, which is why tops brown fast.”
Aggressive airflow: “The fan moves air more aggressively in a smaller chamber, which can pull moisture from the batter surface before the crumb sets.”
Rapid heat recovery: “The small cavity means temperature recovers very quickly when you open it, which is actually an advantage: you lose less heat checking on a cake than you would in a full-size oven.”
Are there any differences that would make the bake better or worse?
Because air fryers work differently from conventional ovens, if you follow the same baking temperatures for standard recipes, you won’t necessarily get the same result.
“The fan sets and browns the top long before the middle catches up, so you pull out something that looks gorgeous, cracks hard down the center, and is still gummy in the bottom third,” says Mahdavian.
Carbajo suggests making a few changes: “I usually lower the temperature slightly compared to the oven recipe, about 15 - 20°F. Start checking on the cake a few minutes early. Every air fryer behaves a little differently, so I suggest practicing once or twice to get the feel of it."
Apart from size, are there any other limitations?
As soon as you start baking in an air fryer, you’ll realize that your conventional baking tins won’t fit. When I made the lemon cupcakes in my air fryer, I had to swap from my habit of making a larger loaf cake and opt for individual paper cases instead.
Apart from downsizing your bakeware, what else do you consider?
Pan clearance and airflow
“The cake pan needs space around it for air to circulate,” says Hansen. “A pan that fits snugly will bake unevenly because you have effectively blocked the convection that the appliance depends on.”
Carbajo adds, “Even if a pan technically fits, if it’s crowding the walls or sitting too close to the element, it won’t bake evenly. I use a 6-inch round, anything wider and I’m just making a burnt frisbee.”
Even if a pan technically fits, if it's crowding the walls or sitting too close to the element, it won't bake evenly
Isaac Bernal Carbajo, Executive Chef
No bottom heat (in most models)
The lack of heat at the bottom of the air fryer can also cause issues with some bakes. Hansen says, “Cakes that need a strong base set, like some cheesecakes and fruit-heavy batters, can end up with soft bottoms.”
Batter height
If you’re hoping to bake a nice tall fruit cake or deep sponge cake, think again. “Anything that rises tall gets close to the top element and browns or burns before the center cooks,” says Hansen, “Low, wide bakes beat tall, narrow ones in an air fryer every time.”
When using an air fryer makes sense
Baking in an air fryer undoubtedly limits the scope of what you can make. However, on hot summer days, when you don’t fancy turning your kitchen into a sauna, an air fryer makes a good swap.
It’s also an ideal solution if you’re only baking for one or two people and won’t eat your way through a whole cake.
Air frying baking tips
To successfully transition from oven baking to air fryer baking, the experts recommend these five key adjustments.
1. Lower the temperature
Drop the temperature about 35°F (20°C) below the conventional oven recipe. “The compact chamber and close element run effectively hotter,” says Hansen.
2. Tent with foil
As air fryers can dry out a cake, Carbajo suggests covering the top with foil once it starts to brown to prevent moisture from escaping.
3. Go low and wide
Hansen says to go low and wide, and adds, “Two shallow layers bake far better than one tall cake, and you can stack them afterward.”
4. Don’t overfill
Air fryer bakes need more headroom than oven bakes, for this reason Hansen recommends to fill pans halfway to two-thirds, and no more.
5. Let it rest
“Let the cake sit in the residual warmth for a few minutes after the cycle ends,” says Hansen. “The small chamber holds gentle heat that finishes the center without further browning.”
6. Experiment
Be prepared to experiment and find out what works with your air fryer. Mantiri says, “Just like how ovens can behave differently depending on the brand, how old it is, or even the altitude you’re at, a similar thing goes for air fryers.”
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