Hands up if you have abandoned your oven for your air fryer. Whether roasting chicken or reheating leftover pizza, these ‘Easy-Bake Ovens’ have made it convenient for novice cooks, youngsters and busy people to cook easily. But baking with an air fryer? That’s a different game! Maybe you’ve tried it once, got a burnt cookie while the centre stayed raw, and vowed to never try again. Fair. Air fryers are great at many things, but baking calls for a bit more finessing. From single-serve cookies to mini loaves, here are the best air fryer baking tips.
Top Air Fryer Baking Tips
Air fryer baking isn’t just about recipes – it’s about knowing your machine and working with it.
Keep it warm. Even if it’s just for 3 minutes, preheating can make a huge difference in how your bakes rise and brown. Using the right bakeware – small, shallow and not too heavy – helps heat circulate. Understanding your air fryer’s quirks, whether that’s top-heavy browning or an intensely powerful fan, lets you adjust before things go south.
Know your model. Before you get baking, you should know that not all air fryers are made equally; some are ideal for baking, while others aren’t built for it. If your air fryer is too compact, you might struggle to get great results and even cooking, which is needed for baking. Knowing your model will help discern which type it is and what you can and can’t bake in it.
Bake in batches. If you’ve got one of those standard basket models (the 2-litre kind), your best bet is sticking to single-serve or small-batch bakes. Think, one muffin, two cookies or a mini sponge cake in a ramekin. These air fryers often have strong top-down heat, so cakes can brown aggressively before they’ve even had a chance to rise. The trick here is to lower your baking temperature and use shallow dishes that allow heat to circulate.
The bigger, the better! Move up to a 4-litre or 5-litre air fryer and suddenly your baking world opens up. These mid-sized models can fit a small round cake tin or a tray of cupcakes, and they tend to have slightly better airflow. If yours comes with a rack, even better, you’ll want to use it to elevate your bake for more even cooking.
There are oven-style or multi-function air fryers (often 10 litres or bigger), which behave like an actual oven. These have multiple shelves, temperature control, and even separate ‘bake’ and ‘air fry’ modes. If this sounds like what you’ve got, you’re in luck – bread, loaf cakes and bigger muffin batches are all ‘bakeable’. Just rotate your trays halfway through – even the more advanced models can have hot and cold zones.
Conventional ovens are still best for baking, but air fryers can be a game-changer if you know how to work them properly, especially if you are looking for a single-serve cookie for those late-night sweet cravings or don’t feel like baking an entire baking sheet. For the best cakes, muffins and bread, try these air fryer baking tips…
Baking Cakes in an Air Fryer
Air fryers can bake a surprisingly good cake, as long as you manage expectations. Don’t go in thinking you can make a tiered cake in one go. What you can make is a beautifully tender single-layer cake or even a batch of cupcake-sized mini sponges, with little effort and a short bake time.
Lower your bake temp. Air fryers are intense – that 180 °C you’re used to in a conventional oven is more like 200 °C in a basket air fryer, thanks to the fan’s proximity to the food. Dropping the temp to around 150–160 °C helps the cake rise before the top browns too much. If the top is colouring too quickly, loosely tent some foil over it (just make sure it’s secured so it doesn’t fly into the element). And don’t skip the cooling stage – giving your cake a few minutes to rest in the basket with the drawer cracked open prevents that dreaded sunken middle.
Use a smaller tin. A 15-centimetre tin tends to fit snugly into most basket models; silicone cake moulds are lifesavers if you’re worried about sticking. If you’ve got a slightly bigger oven-style model, try a loaf tin – just keep an eye on that centre and don’t be afraid to extend your baking time if needed.
Cookies
If there’s one thing your air fryer was made to bake, it’s cookies. They come out with crispy edges and soft middles in no time at all – and the batch size is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want a tray of temptation sitting around for days. Here’s how to bake air fryer cookies.
Chill your dough and don’t overcrowd the basket. Scoop your dough as usual, but chill it first to stop it from spreading while hot. Three or four cookies at a time is usually the max unless you’ve got a mega oven-style model. Also, space is your friend – cookies need room to breathe, even in a basket.
Keep parchment paper on deck. Pre-cut baking paper helps prevent sticking, though you can also use a silicone liner if you’re feeling fancy. Just make sure whatever you use doesn’t block air circulation – that’s what makes the edges golden and satisfying.
Chewy cookies are better than burnt treats. Cookies often look underdone when they’re actually perfect – they’ll continue to cook as they rest in the basket for a minute or two. Whatever you do, don’t overbake them!
Make these delicious Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Cookies.
Muffins and Cupcakes
Air fryers are surprisingly good at baking muffins, but there are a few tricks of the trade. First, use silicone cups or muffin trays that fit your model without touching the sides. Ramekins work great, too. Always use oven mitts or silicone grips when removing them from the basket. If you follow these easy air fryer baking tips, you could bake the perfect muffins and cupcakes.
Keep your batter to two-thirds full, especially in smaller models. The fast heat means muffins puff up quickly, so give them space. You’ll want to keep the temp around 160 °C and check them around the 10-minute mark – smaller ones cook quicker.
Don’t open the drawer too early – this is not just a rule for oven-baked treats or soufflés. That blast of cool air can stop your muffins in their tracks, leaving them sad and sunken. A quick peek at the halfway mark is fine, but resist the urge to open the drawer periodically, unless you want the heat to escape and all your hard work to be wasted.
Try these Carrot Cake Muffins with Whipped Lemon Cream Cheese Icing.
Breads and Loaves
Cornbread, banana loaf and bread in general is everything and more! And yes, it can be baked in an air fryer, but you’ve got to go mini. (Simply double the batch and make another loaf if that’s a no-go.) A standard loaf tin will take forever to cook through in a smaller model and will probably burn on top before the inside sets. Other tips for baking bread…?
Divide your batter. Split the batter between two mini loaf pans, or use a few ramekins if you’re just after snack-sized portions. Keep your temp low – again, around the 150–160 °C mark. Be patient. Bread takes a little longer than you think, but the payoff is huge. If you’re baking a sweet loaf, that caramelised edge and cakey crumb is worth the wait.
Cover with foil. If you notice the top browning too fast, loosely cover with foil halfway through and keep going until a skewer comes out clean.
What About Actual Bread? Crusty bread is trickier, but not impossible. The trick is steam. Some air fryers let you add a bit of water into a tray below the rack, which helps form a proper crust. Spritzing the dough with water just before baking can also replicate that effect.
Stick to small batches and incorporate more hydration. Stick with high-hydration doughs like no-knead or focaccia for your first few tries. Start small – single buns or mini loaves bake more evenly than one big boule. Use a lower temp, watch the top carefully and let the loaf rest before slicing.
Try this Mielie & Mozzarella Bread.
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