Easy Air Fryer Cake Recipe That Actually Works! (UK)

★★★★★ (4.6)

 45 mins

 6

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Air fryer cake doesn’t have to be a gamble. This simple all in one sponge works every time. No creaming, no folding, no faff. Just mix, air fry, and enjoy! It's a light and delicious cake that you'd never know wasn't baked in an oven!

Why you'll love it 💛

Whether it's the middle of Summer, and it's too hot to put the oven on, or you only need a small cake instead of a large one - this recipe has got you covered!

Using the easy all in one cake method, there’s no creaming, no folding, and no washing up mountain. Just chuck everything in, mix, and air fry.

And the results? Light, fluffy, and absolutely delicious! You'd never know it wasn't oven baked. Air fryers work just like mini fan ovens. So with the right temperature and timing, they're actually brilliant for baking!

Not convinced? My UK air fryer recipes round up has over 40 ideas that might change your mind.

Love baking in the air fryer? You might also want to try my air fryer chocolate cake, or this indulgent Biscoff cake.

Ingredient notes

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here's what you need to know...

For the cake

• Sugar - Caster sugar is preferred, although granulated will work. It just means you'll have to mix for a little longer, until the grains have dissolved into the batter. Do be careful not to over mix though.
• Butter - Unsalted butter works best in baking, as you can add the salt separately. Which gives you full control. Just make sure it's at room temperature/softened before you begin baking.
• Eggs - Any large eggs will do. Ingredients have gotten very expensive recently, so go with what you can afford. Just bring them to room temperature before using.
• Flour - I use self raising flour. If you only have plain/all purpose flour, see how to make self raising flour using store cupboard ingredients. Then use as per the recipe. Note, you will still need to add the extra ½ teaspoon of baking powder, as listed in the ingredients.
• Baking Powder - Not to be confused with bicarbonate of soda. Do check it's still in date before you use it!
• Milk - Any milk will work, including plant based alternatives.
• Vanilla - I highly recommend using a good quality vanilla. (I like Nielsen Massey and Little Pod.) I promise you will taste the difference and never look back!
• Salt - Please don't skip this! You season your dinner, why wouldn't you season your bakes?!

For the filling

• Butter - See above. The same applies for the icing!
• Sugar - You need icing sugar to make buttercream frosting. It's fine enough to dissolve quickly, which is exactly what we need!
• Vanilla - See above. It will taste just as good here.
• Jam - Traditionally, strawberry jam is used in a Victoria sponge. But honestly, you can use whatever you have or fancy!

Emma's top tips

Here are some tips you'll find helpful when making this air fryer cake.

• Remember all air fryers vary from brand to brand, and this can affect the cooking times.
• Make sure all chilled ingredients are brought to room temperature before you begin. It's essential for the 'all in one' cake method to work!
• Do not over mix the batter. Beat only until the ingredients have blended together, and there are no more visible streaks of flour. If you overdo it, your air fryer cake may end up dense and chewy.
• Test with a skewer about 5 mins before the end of the cooking time. Adjust timings as necessary.
• Crust a little crisp? To avoid this, brush the tops of each layer with a little milk as soon as they are baked.
• Allow your cake to cool completely before you add the icing and jam. Otherwise things will get VERY messy!
• Don't open the drawers in the first half of the cooking time. Instead, open and check around the 20 minute mark. Otherwise your cakes could deflate.

Not a confident baker yet? Baking for Beginners is a great place to start building your knowledge.

Timings

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here's some time managing info to make your life easier.

• It will only take around 5-10 minutes for you to prepare your tins and make the cake batter. (Assuming all your ingredients are at room temperature, as recommended in the recipe.)
• Your cake will take approx 25 minutes to bake in the air fryer.
• Depending on the time of year (seasons play a factor here), it will take around an hour or so for your cakes to cool completely.
• The buttercream icing will take about 5 minutes to make.
• Assembling and dusting the cake should take roughly 5 minutes.

Product suggestions

Life in the kitchen is SO much easier when you have the right equipment! Here are the tools I used and recommend...

• These are the tins I used. They fit perfectly in my Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone AF400 air fryer.
• Electric hand whisks save you a good amount of elbow grease. It's always worth having one of these in your cupboard!
• A cooling rack is a kitchen staple. Really cheap, and really handy.
• I've had my silicone pastry brush for over 10 years now. I'd never go back to the bristle kind.

Step by step picture recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to serve 6.

Important! All ingredients must be at room temperature before you begin, for the 'all in one' cake method to work.

For the cake

• 120g (½ Cup) Caster Sugar
• 120g (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp *
• 2 x Eggs + 1 Yolk, room temp
• 120g (¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup) Self Raising Flour
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1.5 tablespoon Milk (plus extra for brushing)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon Salt

*Is yours still fridge cold? Learn how to soften butter quickly.

For the filling

• 60g (¼ Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
• 85g (¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup) Icing/Confectioners Sugar (plus extra for dusting)
• ¼ teaspoon Vanilla
• 180g (½ Cup) Strawberry Jam

Essential equipment

• 2 x 6" Round Cake Tins
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Electric Hand Whisk
• Spatula
• Air Fryer
• Pastry Brush
• Cooling Rack
• Medium Bowl
• Sieve

Cake instructions

Grease the base and sides of your cake tins, and line the bases with baking paper.

Then add ALL the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl. (120g | ½ Cup caster sugar, 120g | ½ Cup unsalted butter, 2 x eggs + 1 yolk, 120g | ¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup self raising flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1.5 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ¼ teaspoon salt.)

Beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth and blended. Start on a low speed, and work up to a higher one. You shouldn't need to use a very fast speed, if your ingredients are all at room temperature.

Note - Do NOT over mix! Or your cake could end up dense and chewy.

Then divide the batter between your two prepared tins with a spatula, and smooth out. Preheat your air fryer to 150ºC/302ºF.

Once preheated, carefully place your cake tins in the air fryer and close the drawer(s).

Air fry at 150ºC/302ºF for 25 minutes. Check on them at the 20 minutes mark, as all air fryers vary.

Insert a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, they're cooked through. If there is batter on it, they need a little longer.

Just like when baking cake in an oven, try not to open the drawer(s) too much. Especially during the first half of the cooking time.

As soon as they're done, take them out the air fryer and brush the tops with a little milk. This will help soften the hard crust. Don't go mad though - you only need a little.

After about 10 minutes, carefully remove the air fryer cakes from the tin, peel off the baking paper, and allow to cool upside down on a rack.

Filling instructions

Meanwhile, you can make the frosting! Place the butter (60g | ¼ Cup), icing sugar (85g | ¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup) and vanilla (¼ tsp) into a medium sized bowl.

Start to mix the ingredients with a spatula. It will seem like it won't come together, but it will. Continue to beat until the frosting is nice and smooth.

Assembly instructions

When your cakes are cool, place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Smooth over the buttercream icing, but not quite to the edge.

Next, spread over the jam. Again, don't go right to the edges... You'll see why in a second!

Now place the other cake layer on top and gently press it down. This will schmush the filling out a little, so be careful. (Yes, that's a technical term!)

Finally, all that's left for you to do is dust the top, by sieving over some icing sugar. And that's it! You now have a beautifully light, airy and delicious air fryer sponge cake!

How to store

I usually recommend storing cake in an airtight metal container at room temperature. However, this is one of the few times I will actually suggest storing it in a plastic tub. Why? Because air fryer cakes can form a harder crust than oven baked ones. And, as sugar sweats in plastic, it will actually help to soften it a little.

The only downside, is that you may have to re-dust with icing sugar before serving. But that's very easy to do!

Top Tip! Turn your tub upside down and place the cake on the lid. That way you don't have to lift it out every time you want some. Just take off the tub and it's ready to go!

FAQs

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Continue to Content

Easy Air Fryer Cake Recipe

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

No creaming, no folding, no faffing. Just mix, air fry, and enjoy! This easy all in one air fryer cake works perfectly EVERY SINGLE TIME!

4.6 Stars (23 Reviews)

Print

Ingredients

• 120g (½ Cup) Caster Sugar
• 120g (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
• 2 x Eggs + 1 Yolk, room temp
• 120g (¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup) Self Raising Flour
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1.5 tablespoon Milk (plus extra for brushing)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon Salt

For the filling

Toggle ingredient group

• 60g (¼ Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
• 85g (¾ Cup + ⅛ Cup) Icing/Confectioners Sugar (plus extra for dusting)
• ¼ teaspoon Vanilla
• 180g (½ Cup) Strawberry Jam

Essential equipment

Toggle ingredient group

• 2 x 6″ Round Cake Tins
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Electric Hand Whisk
• Spatula
• Air Fryer
• Pastry Brush
• Cooling Rack
• Medium Bowl
• Sieve

Instructions

For the cake

1. Grease the insides of your cake tins and line the bases with baking paper. Then, add ALL the cake ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
2. Starting on a slow speed and working up, beat the ingredients until smooth. Do NOT over mix.
3. Divide the batter between your cake tins and smooth out with a spatula. Preheat your air fryer to 150ºC/302ºF.
4. Place the cakes into the air fryer drawer(s) and air fry for 25 minutes. Check at 20 mins with a skewer, and adjust the timings as necessary.
5. As soon as they're done, remove the cakes from the air fryer, and brush the tops with a little milk. (This will help soften the crust.)
6. Leave in the tins for 10 mins. Then carefully remove, peel off the baking paper, and cool upside down on a rack.

For the filling

1. Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl.
2. Starting off gently, beat with a spatula. It will seem like it won't come together, but it will. Continue until smooth and grain free.

Assembly

1. Place a cake layer on a stand or serving plate. Smooth over the buttercream icing, but don't spread it right to the edge.
2. Top with the jam and gently smooth it out. Again, don't go right to the edge.
3. Place the other cake layer on the top and gently press down. This will squash the filling out, so take care. Finally, sieve over some icing sugar to dust the top.

Notes

I used the air fry setting on a Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone 9.5 litre Air Fryer

If you would rather use a more in depth picture recipe, please see the main body of this post. Where you’ll also find lots of extra FAQs and helpful tips, should you need them.

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

Tips

• Remember all air fryers vary from brand to brand, and this can affect the cooking times.
• Make sure all chilled ingredients are brought to room temperature before you begin. It's essential for the 'all in one' cake method to work!
• Do not over mix the batter. Beat only until the ingredients have blended together, and there are no more visible streaks of flour. If you overdo it, your air fryer cake may end up dense and chewy.
• Test with a skewer about 5 mins before the end of the cooking time. Adjust timings as necessary.
• Crust a little crisp? To avoid this, brush the tops of each layer with a little milk as soon as they are baked.
• Allow your cake to cool completely before you add the icing and jam. Otherwise things will get VERY messy!
• Don't open the drawers in the first half of the cooking time. Instead, open and check around the 20 minute mark. Otherwise your cakes could deflate.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

• 
  MasterClass 15cm/6" Deep Round Cake Tin
• 
  Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer [AF400UK] 9.5L, 2 Drawers

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 539Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 416mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 1gSugar: 49gProtein: 5g

Nutritional information on kitchenmason.com should only be used as a general guideline, I am not a certified nutritionist. Please always check labels for allergens where applicable.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to hear about it! Please leave a comment on the blog or tag me on Instagram.

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Share your baking! 💛

Have you made this wonderful air fryer cake? I’d love to know if you have! Tag me in your pics on Instagram and Facebook. Or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.

Emma Mason

Emma is a British recipe writer, home cook, and founder of Kitchen Mason. For over 15 years, she has been creating simple, comforting recipes and practical kitchen tips that help tired, everyday people make dinner feel easier and more enjoyable again. Passionate about British home cooking, Emma shares reliable recipes, comforting classics, and realistic kitchen guidance designed for real life. Her work has also been featured in publications including Food Network, Cosmopolitan, and The Huffington Post.
Knowledgeable On:  British home cooking, Easy dinner ideas, Comfort food recipes, Recipe writing

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