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Air fryers aren’t just tools for getting a crispy finish on veggies or heating up last night’s dinner — they’re incredible for baking cakes, as well. The appliance is great for baking the treats faster, making individual-sized desserts, and for plenty of other reasons. To get the best from your air-fried cakes, make them with a silicone pan.
Metal or aluminum tins are often used for preparing desserts, but for air frying, why not use a material that you may already have? You should own silicone liners for your air fryer, along with silicone baking pans. The material is heat-resistant and durable, so the pans will always hold their shape under high temperatures. Silicone pans are insulators, controlling the flow of heat to ensure your cake bakes evenly. Best of all, they’re highly flexible, making cake removal a breeze. The desserts slip right out of the pans, so there’s no risk of your cake falling apart. The batter molds itself to the shape of the pan well, without leaving any crumbs or pieces of cake after removal.
Thanks to silicone being a non-stick material, there’s no need to add butter or oil to the inside of the pan, which ensures a non-greasy cake exterior. Silicone comes in a variety of forms and sizes, so there’s bound to be an air fryer silicone baking set that will fit into your appliance’s basket.
Try these tips when using a silicone pan for air fryer cakes
Switching from an oven to an air fryer for cakes comes with its own set of differences, but there are extra things to keep in mind when using silicone. Lowering the heat is an important tip you need to bake a cake in an air fryer, but don’t forget to increase the cooking time for silicone pans, as well. Silicone, being an insulator, does help it to bake cakes more evenly, but it also means it takes a longer time to heat the cake. Increase the baking time by about five minutes or more to ensure the cake is done.
Your silicone pans also won’t heat up the way that metal pans do, so you won’t get browned or crispy edges on your cakes. It’s best to use them for delicate treats that are best with a moist exterior, such as a light and fluffy angel food cake or orange chiffon cake. While the bottom and sides of the cake will remain intact, don’t forget to protect the top, too. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the cake (tightly wrap it to avoid safety issues) to keep it moist and uniform with the rest of the cake.
