Can you bake in an air fryer? The quick answer to this question is, “yes,” you can bake in an air fryer. Air fryers use innovative technology that circulates hot air around the food items in the basket. The heating element inside the fryer produces heat, and a fan moves the hot air around the food.
The primary purpose of using an air fryer is to cook or bake healthy food items without using a large quantity of oil. Not only does an air fryer enables you to cook crispier and healthy food, but it also allows for cooking tenderer food. Unlike a conventional fryer that uses a large quantity of oil, an air fryer is a much better and healthier alternative.
Can You Bake in an Air Fryer?
Summary
An air fryer is an excellent kitchen appliance you can use for baking a wide range of food items. However, you may need some additional equipment for baking specific food items. For example, muffin tins and glass baking dishes do not fit into the air fryer’s basket. So, purchase smaller, oven-safe baking ware to fit in the air fryer basket if you want to bake muffins or cakes.
On the other hand, you can use parchment paper for baking cookies. However, the basket can bake no more than 3-5 cookies at a time, but this depends on the size of your air fryer. If you want to bake more cookies, we recommend buying a large-size air fryer. Let us now discuss what you can and can’t bake in an air fryer.
What Food Items can Your Bake in an Air Fryer?
Can you bake in an air fryer? An air fryer is an excellent tool or appliance for cooking and baking. However, when using an air fryer for baking, make sure you know what food items you can bake in it.
Cookies
An air fryer allows for faster and efficient hot air circulation, meaning the equipment will take 3-5 or 5-7 minutes to back cookies. It is crucial to prevent cookies from sticking, and you can use butter or cooking spray to coat the air fryer basket for this purpose.
Line the base of the air fryer using parchment paper or foil to prevent cookies from burning. Focus on setting an accurate temperature and baking time to streamline the entire process without any problems.
Cakes or Cupcakes
You can use an air fryer for baking cakes and cupcakes. You will experience a unique taste and crispiness by baking cakes in your air fryer because the batters’ surface comes in close contact with the heating element. As a result, you have cupcakes or cakes with crispier and caramelized tops. Bear in mind that the cakes’ centers will remain fluffy and tender.
Chiffon and Sponge Cakes
Research shows that cakes made from batter are relatively thinner, making it slightly challenging for people to bake them in an air fryer. You may experience a lot of mess because the batter scatters during the baking process.
However, if you use a sturdy metallic pan, you can prevent this problem and bake chiffon and sponge cakes without any issues. Make sure you cover the batter-filled pan when baking a chiffon cake.
Aluminum foil is an excellent choice for covering the pan. Once you bake the cake, remove the five minutes and put it back into the air fryer. That way, you can achieve a tenderer and fluffy cake.
Doughnuts
Most people use deep fryers for cooking doughnuts, but they are not healthy. Although doughnuts contain a large quantity of sugar, you can cut the extra oil using an air fryer. That way, you can enjoy delicious doughnuts without consuming too much fat and calories.
Make sure you place the doughnuts into the basket accurately and leave some space between each of them. Adjust the temperature and time to avoid burning your doughnuts and enjoy healthier food.
Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are a delicious food item that you can bake in your air fryer. However, it is crucial to carry out the process accurately. We recommend cutting the rolls into smaller pieces. Avoid placing too many rolls in the basket because the space between them is crucial to achieving deliciousness. In addition, it will take only 9-11 minutes to bake frozen cinnamon rolls.
Food Items to Avoid Baking in an Air Fryer
An air fryer is highly efficient kitchen equipment that saves you a lot of time in your kitchen. Can you bake in an air fryer? Although you can make many food items in your air fryer, you must avoid the following:
Cheese-based Food items
You must avoid baking any food item that contains cheese in your air fryer. Otherwise, you will experience a lot of mess and may not achieve your desired goals. When the cheese comes in contact with your air fryer’s hot surface, it will melt quickly and create a mess.
It is often problematic for people to clean the burnt or melted cheese from the air fryer. Remember, doing this can also damage your equipment and reduce its lifespan. On the other hand, you can bake food with cheese not exposed to the heating element. For example, muffin fillings!
Smaller Food Items
Because an air fryer uses hot air circulation technology to cook or bake food items, placing small food items in the basket can compromise the food quality. Therefore, air fryers are not an ideal option for baking smaller food items, such as mini-sized cupcakes, madeleines, choux pastries, and cream puffs. It is because smaller items coming in contact with the heating element may burn.
Can you bake in an Air Fryer – Final Words
An air fryer is a much better, efficient, and cost-effective equipment than deep frying machines and ovens. Pre-heating your air fryer allows for accurate and evenly baking. Remember to clean your air fryer after baking the food items given above.
