Air Fryer Baking: How to Bake Cake, Bread and Cookies
Can you bake in an air fryer? Yes. An air fryer is a small fan oven, so it bakes cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies and bread rolls well, often faster than a big oven. The trick is a lower temperature and the right size tin. Here is how to bake in an air fryer, with times and simple recipes.
Updated 14 November 2026
Air fryer baking basics
- Lower the temperature: bake about 10 to 20 °C lower than an oven recipe says, usually 150 to 160 °C, because the fan is close to the food.
- Check early: start checking 5 to 10 minutes before the oven recipe time.
- Use the right tin: it must fit with at least 1 to 2 cm of space all round for air to move. A 15 to 18 cm round tin suits most 5 to 7 litre baskets.
- Cover the top: if the top browns before the middle is done, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last part of baking. Make sure it cannot blow into the heater.
- Remove the crisper plate if the tin sits too close to the heater.
Metal, silicone and oven-safe glass or ceramic tins all work. Never use plastic.
How to bake a cake in an air fryer
Simple vanilla sponge for a 15 to 18 cm tin:
- Beat 2 eggs with 1/2 cup sugar until pale and thick.
- Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Fold in 3/4 cup flour mixed with 1 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt.
- Pour into a greased, lined tin, filling it only half to two-thirds.
- Preheat the air fryer to 155 to 160 °C for 3 minutes.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, covering the top loosely with foil after 15 minutes if it browns fast.
- A toothpick in the centre should come out clean.
For chocolate cake, swap 3 tablespoons of flour for cocoa. For eggless cake, use 1/2 cup yoghurt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in place of the eggs.
Air fryer cupcakes and muffins
Use silicone cups or doubled paper cups so they stand on their own in the basket. Fill each cup two-thirds full and bake at 160 °C for 12 to 15 minutes. A 5.5 litre basket holds about 6 cupcakes; a 9 litre fryer like the Westpoint WF-7260 9 Litre Digital Air Fryer or an oven like the Westpoint WF-5259 25 Litre Air Fryer Oven fits a full batch.
Air fryer brownies
Melt 100 g butter with 1/2 cup sugar, stir in 1 egg, then 1/2 cup flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa and a pinch of salt. Pour into a lined 15 cm square or round tin. Bake at 160 °C for 15 to 20 minutes. The centre should still look slightly soft, because brownies set as they cool. Leave them for 15 minutes before cutting.
Cookies and biscuits in an air fryer
Line the basket with perforated air fryer paper. Place small balls of cookie dough with gaps between them, because they spread. Bake at 160 °C for 7 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden. They feel soft when hot and firm up as they cool.
Oatmeal cookies, nankhatai and butter biscuits all work this way. Weigh the paper down with the dough before the fan starts, or loose paper can fly up into the heater. Read air fryer paper and liners for safe use.
Can you bake bread in an air fryer?
Yes, small loaves and rolls work well.
- Bread rolls or buns: shape the risen dough into balls, place them in a lined tin and bake at 170 °C for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Small loaf: use a mini loaf tin and bake at 160 to 170 °C for 20 to 25 minutes. Tap the bottom; it should sound hollow.
- Garlic bread: butter and garlic on sliced bread, 180 °C for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Toast: 180 °C for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway.
Tall loaves can touch the heater, so a deeper air fryer oven like the Anex AG-2123 23 Litre Air Fryer Oven is better for bigger bakes.
Other easy air fryer desserts
- Cinnamon rolls: 160 °C for 10 to 12 minutes
- Baked apples or bananas with honey: 180 °C for 8 to 10 minutes
- Puff pastry patties and fruit tarts: 180 °C for 8 to 12 minutes
- Donuts from soft dough: 180 °C for 5 to 6 minutes, then dip in sugar
- Mug-style pudding in a heat-proof ramekin: 160 °C for 10 to 12 minutes
These make quick tea-time treats for guests without heating a full oven.
Common air fryer baking mistakes
- Too hot: the top burns while the middle stays raw. Drop to 150 to 160 °C.
- Tin too big: air cannot flow, so the sides stay pale. Leave a gap all round.
- Overfilled tin: the cake rises into the heater. Fill only half to two-thirds.
- Opening too often: every pull of the drawer lets heat out. Check only near the end, or use a model with a window.
- Light paper flying up: never preheat with loose paper inside; put food on it first.
- Skipping the cool-down: cakes and brownies firm up as they cool, so wait before you cut.
Write down the time and temperature that works in your own fryer. After two or three bakes you will know exactly how your model behaves.
Which air fryer is best for baking?
- A basket with a flat bottom and a wide shape fits round tins best. A 5.5 to 7 litre model like the Kenwood HFP80 7 Litre Digital Air Fryer or Dawlance DWAF-3374 B 7.6 Litre Digital Air Fryer suits most home baking.
- Digital controls make it easier to set 155 or 160 °C exactly; a dial is less precise. See digital vs manual air fryer.
- A viewing window, like on the Philips NA322 4.2 Litre Digital Air Fryer, lets you watch a cake rise without opening the drawer.
- For full-size cakes, loaves or several trays, choose an air fryer oven, which has racks and more height.
If you bake large cakes every week, compare a convection microwave too, in our air fryer vs oven guide.
