Air Fryer Vanilla Cake
This air fryer vanilla cake is a soft, buttery little cake that comes together in one bowl and bakes without turning the oven on. It’s a small batch recipe baked in a 6 inch round cake pan, which is exactly the right size for a weeknight treat or a small birthday.
About this air fryer vanilla cake
This is a classic creamed butter vanilla cake, scaled down to fit an air fryer basket. The cake is baked at a lower temperature than what is standard because air fryers cook with fast-moving hot air, so the top of a cake sets and colours much quicker than the middle can catch up. Baking at 160°C (320°F) instead of the usual 180°C gives the centre time to cook through before the surface goes too dark.
The batter uses both butter and oil, along with natural yoghurt. The butter is creamed with the sugar to bring air into the batter and gives all the flavour, while the oil stays liquid at room temperature and keeps the crumb soft for days rather than firming up in the fridge. The yoghurt brings acidity, which tenderises the crumb and reacts with the small amount of baking soda for a bit of extra lift.
It’s baked in a 6 inch (15cm) round pan, so it suits smaller air fryers, and it makes a plain vanilla cake that you can ice however you like. I usually keep it simple and dust it with icing sugar, but it takes frosting, whipped cream or fresh fruit just as well!
Key ingredients and why
- Plain flour (all purpose flour). A standard plain flour with not too much gluten content.
- Butter, salted or unsalted. The butter needs to be properly at room temperature so it creams well with the sugar. If it’s still cold and firm it won’t hold air, and you’ll end up with a denser cake.
- A little neutral oil. Rice bran, canola or sunflower all work. Unlike butter, oil stays liquid at room temperature, which is why the cake still feels soft and moist on day three.
- Caster or granulated sugar.
- Natural yoghurt or sour cream. This adds moisture and acidity. The acid softens the gluten strands slightly and works with the baking soda, so you get a tender cake that isn’t at all dry.
- Large eggs, at room temperature. Cold eggs added to creamed butter will make the mixture split and look curdled, so take them out of the fridge along with the butter and yoghurt.
- Vanilla bean paste or extract. This is the whole flavour of the cake, so it’s worth using something good. Vanilla bean paste gives you the little flecks through the crumb as well.
Equipment
- An air fryer. Mine is a 5.3L basket style air fryer, and this recipe is designed for a smaller air fryer rather than a large oven style one.
- A 6 inch (15cm) round cake tin.
- An electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for creaming the butter and sugar.
Method
- Grease the cake pan with a little oil or butter and line the base with baking paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Cream the room temperature butter, sugar and oil together with an electric mixer until the mixture is noticeably paler and looks light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and yoghurt.
- Beat until smooth. If it looks slightly split at this stage, don’t worry, it will come back together once the flour goes in.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, or fold them through with a spatula. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and place in the air fryer.
- Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 25 minutes, then test the middle with a skewer. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If there’s still wet batter clinging to it, drop the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and bake in 5 minute increments, testing each time.
- Let the cake sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with icing sugar or frost how you like.
Tips for making vanilla cake in the air fryer
Serving and decorating
Let the cake cool completely before you slice it, and use a sharp knife so the slices stay neat. It’s so easy dusted with just icing sugar, but it’s also lovely with softly whipped cream and berries. If you want to dress it up properly, spread it with a small batch of buttercream or cream cheese frosting, or drizzle it with thick caramel sauce.
Storing and freezing
Once the cake is completely cool, keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. The oil in the batter means it stays soft even when chilled, though it’s always nicest at room temperature.
To freeze it, wrap the cooled cake (or individual slices) tightly in plastic wrap, then put it into an airtight container or freezer bag. It keeps well for up to 3 months. Thaw it at room temperature still wrapped, so the condensation forms on the wrap rather than on the cake.
Variations
- Lemon. Add the zest of one lemon to the butter and sugar as you cream them, so the oils in the zest disperse through the batter, then drizzle a simple lemon glaze over the cooled cake.
- Funfetti. Fold a couple of tablespoons of sprinkles through at the very end, after the flour is mixed in, so the colours don’t bleed.
- Almond. Swap half a teaspoon of the vanilla for almond extract for a slightly marzipan flavour that goes beautifully with cherries or berries on top.
More air fryer and cake recipes
- Air Fryer Banana Cake, another small batch cake that uses a single ripe banana
- Air Fryer Chocolate Lava Cakes for a gooey molten centred dessert for four
- Earl Grey Cake with Lemon Curd, a two layer 6 inch cake for something more special
- Olive Oil Grapefruit Cake if you like a citrus forward cake
- See all my air fryer recipes
Air Fryer Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 155 g all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 0.125 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 55 g butter room temperature, salted or unsalted
- 28 g neutral oil such as rice bran, canola or sunflower
- 135 g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 120 g natural yoghurt room temperature, or sour cream
Instructions
- Grease a 6 inch (15cm) round cake pan with a little oil or butter and line the base with baking paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter, caster sugar and oil together with an electric hand mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. This takes around 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, vanilla and yoghurt and beat until smooth and combined. If the mixture looks slightly split at this stage, it will come back together once the flour is added.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed, or fold them through with a spatula, until just combined with no dry flour visible. Don’t overmix.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Place the pan into the air fryer basket, leaving a little room around it so the air can circulate.
- Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 25 minutes. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it isn’t clean, lower the temperature to 150°C (300°F), bake for another 5 minutes and check again, repeating until the skewer comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with icing sugar, or frost and decorate as you like.
