When you hear the word “cake,” an image of an oven automatically pops up in your head. However, if you don’t have an OTG oven, you might be surprised to know that you can bake an equally fluffy cake in an air fryer. Apart from the classic French fries and other crunchy snacks, you can also cook desserts like a cake in your Usha’s air fryer.
Since air fryers are not traditionally used for baking purposes, it is only natural that you have a lot of questions. If you are trying to bake in the Usha air fryer for the first time, this is just the right article for you. From choosing the right temperature to rotating the cake pan, here are a few times that will help you get a moist and fluffy cake.
Cake Pan
While the recipe to make a cake is standard, the difference between baking a cake in an oven and an air fryer lies in choosing the right cake pan, temperature, and baking techniques. Since an air fryer is usually smaller than an oven, you need to choose a pan that can easily fit in your Usha air fryer basket. Choosing lightweight materials like aluminium or silicone is also better to ensure an even heat distribution.
Preheating
Just the way preheating an oven is an unsaid practice, you should also preheat Usha’s air fryer. Before you put the pan in the air fryer, set the air fryer to the required temperature and let it run for about five minutes. This will help ensure that the cake batter starts to bake immediately, ensuring an even texture and making the cake rise.
Temperature And Time Settings
The cooking time for an air fryer is usually lower than that of a traditional oven. So, if the recipe requires setting the temperature to 180°C, set the air fryer to 10–20°C lower, i.e., around 160°C. Similarly, you also need to start checking if the cake is done about five to ten minutes before the recipe suggests.
Prepping The Pan
Once the Usha air fryer is preheated, you can pick a suitable pan and grease it with butter. You can also line the pan with parchment paper, which makes the bottom of the pan thicker and ensures that the cake doesn’t stick to the surface. After greasing it, you can pour the batter into the pan. But make sure that you don’t overfill the pan and leave room for the cake to rise.
Techniques For Even Baking
Even though air fryers are capable of efficiently baking a cake, they have hot spots due to the design of their heating elements. So, once half the time of baking the cake is passed, you can rotate the pan to 180 degrees to ensure even baking. This will help you prevent burning the edges of the cake and also avoid any raw spots.