Posted by Craving a light and fluffy cake but don’t want to use your oven? Your air fryer can work wonders for this! In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through how to make a perfect sponge cake using your air fryer. With the right ingredients and techniques, you’ll get a soft, spongy, and delicious cake every time. Ready to learn how? Let’s get started!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cake Batter:
- Self-raising flour (260 g or 2 cups): You can also use plain flour, but you’ll need to add baking powder (usually 2 tsp for every cup of flour).
- Caster sugar (250 g or 1¼ cups): This superfine sugar helps in making the cake soft and sweet.
- Unsalted butter or margarine (115 g or ½ cup): Ensure it’s softened to room temperature for a smooth batter.
- Medium eggs (3): These are UK medium eggs, but if you’re in the US, use large eggs for the best results.
- Semi-skimmed milk (120 ml or ½ cup): Room temperature milk works best for an even batter.
- Vanilla extract (1 tsp): You can also use vanilla bean paste or powder for a richer flavor.
For the Frosting:
- Unsalted butter (57 g or ¼ cup): Softened for a smooth frosting.
- Icing sugar (240 g or 2 cups): To create that fluffy, sweet frosting.
- Full-fat cream cheese (3 tbsp): Adds creaminess to the frosting.
- Double cream (2 tbsp): Helps make the frosting rich and smooth.
- Vanilla extract (1 tsp): Adds a delicious vanilla flavor.
For Filling and Decoration:
- Strawberry or raspberry jam (seedless): A classic filling for sponge cakes.
- Fresh seasonal fruits: You can choose berries or any fruit you like for a fresh topping.
- Mini meringues (optional): For an extra touch of crunch.
- Icing sugar: To dust the finished cake.
Tools You’ll Need
- 8-inch deep cake pan (or a size that fits your air fryer)
- Parchment paper to line the pan
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment
- Spatula for scraping the sides of the bowl
- Oven mitts for handling the hot pan
- Cooling rack to allow the cake to cool evenly
Step-by-Step Instructions for Baking Your Air Fryer Cake
Step 1: Preheat Your Air Fryer Start by preheating your air fryer to 160°C (320°F). It’s important to preheat so your cake cooks evenly from the start. While your air fryer is heating up, mist your 8-inch cake pan with cake release spray or butter, then line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking.
Step 2: Measure and Combine Dry Ingredients Accurate measurements are key to achieving the perfect cake texture. Using a digital scale, measure out your self-raising flour and caster sugar, and sift them into a mixing bowl. This ensures there are no lumps and helps with even mixing.
Step 3: Add Wet Ingredients Next, add your softened butter, eggs, semi-skimmed milk, and vanilla extract into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, blend everything together until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated. The batter should be silky and smooth, which takes about a minute of mixing.
Step 4: Prepare the Cake Pan and Air Fry Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan, ensuring it’s evenly spread. Smooth the surface with a spatula if necessary. Carefully place the cake pan into your air fryer basket. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.
Step 5: Check for Doneness To check if the cake is fully baked, insert a toothpick or skewer into the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, your cake is ready. If it’s still wet, continue baking in 5-minute intervals until done.
Step 6: Cool the Cake Carefully remove the cake pan from the air fryer using oven mitts. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then, invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before frosting or decorating.
Air Fryer Cake Baking Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients: This helps create a smoother batter and ensures even baking.
- Don’t overfill the pan: Make sure your cake pan is no more than halfway full, as the batter will rise. If your pan is smaller than 8 inches, adjust the baking time accordingly.
- Adjust air fryer settings if needed: Some air fryers come with a pre-set baking function, but you can manually adjust the temperature and time for better results. If your air fryer has a bake setting at 150°C (300°F), this can be ideal for smaller cakes.
- Buttercream layering: If you want to make a layered cake, you might need to level the top of the cake. A sharp knife or cake leveler will help with this.
- Keep the cake fresh: Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature, and it will stay soft for up to five days. If you’ve added frosting, it’s best to refrigerate the cake.
Creating the Buttercream Frosting
While the cake is cooling, you can prepare your buttercream frosting. Here’s how:
Step 1: Beat Butter and Icing Sugar In a mixing bowl, combine the softened unsalted butter and icing sugar. Beat them together using a hand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add Cream Cheese and Vanilla Once the butter and sugar are well combined, add in the full-fat cream cheese, double cream, and vanilla extract. Continue to beat the frosting until it’s smooth and holds soft peaks.
Step 3: Frost and Decorate Once your cake has cooled completely, slice it in half horizontally to create two layers (if desired). Spread a layer of frosting and jam on the bottom layer, then sandwich it with the top layer. Cover the top of the cake with more frosting, and decorate with fresh berries and a dusting of icing sugar.
FAQs About Air Fryer Cakes
What temperature works best for air fryer cakes?
The temperature settings can vary depending on your air fryer model, but 160°C (320°F) is a good starting point. Lowering the temperature to 150°C (300°F) toward the end of baking helps avoid overcooking and ensures a moist cake.
Can I make smaller cakes in my air fryer?
Absolutely! Just make sure to adjust the cooking time. A smaller cake pan will need less time to cook. If you’re using a 6-inch pan, for example, check for doneness at 25 minutes.
Why is my cake uneven?
Air fryers can sometimes cause cakes to rise unevenly. If this happens, level the cake with a knife before frosting. Alternatively, cover the top of the cake with aluminum foil halfway through baking to prevent over-browning.
Victoria Sponge Cake In Air Fryer
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Preheat: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12-14 slices
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 260 g (2 cups) self-raising flour
- 250 g (1¼ cups) caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 120 ml (½ cup) semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 57 g (¼ cup) softened butter
- 240 g (2 cups) icing sugar
- 3 tbsp full-fat cream cheese
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Filling and Decoration:
- Strawberry or raspberry jam (seedless)
- Fresh berries
- Icing sugar for dusting
Instructions:
- Preheat the air fryer to 160°C (320°F). Grease and line an 8-inch cake pan.
- Combine the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Add butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 160°C, then reduce to 150°C for 10 more minutes.
- Check if the cake is done using a toothpick.
- Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat butter and icing sugar, then mix in cream cheese, cream, and vanilla.
- Slice the cake in half, spread jam and frosting, then assemble. Decorate with fresh berries and icing sugar.
