Air Fryer Guides
Air Fryer Baking Guide for Beginners
Air fryers aren't just for chips, chicken and quick dinners. You can also use them for muffins, small cakes, pastries and savoury bakes.
The important thing is to choose suitable bakeware, leave enough room for air to circulate and check your food as it cooks. Air fryers vary, so a temperature or cooking time that works in one model may need adjusting in another.
By Esther LackiePublished
What Can You Bake in an Air Fryer?
Air fryers can be useful for:
- Muffins and small cakes
- Puff pastry snacks
- Egg and cheese breakfast bakes
- Small portions of baked desserts
- Other recipes that fit comfortably in suitable baking dishes
The size and shape of your air fryer will affect what you can bake and how many portions will fit.
Choosing the Right Bakeware
Choose bakeware that is suitable for your particular air fryer and fits without touching the heating elements or obstructing airflow.
Depending on the appliance instructions, suitable options may include:
- Oven-safe ramekins
- Oven-safe baking dishes
- Metal muffin cups or tins
- Silicone bakeware rated for the required temperature
- Disposable aluminium baking cups or trays, where permitted by the manufacturer
Always check the air fryer manual and the bakeware manufacturer's temperature limits.
Never put plastic lids, ordinary plastic containers or non-oven-safe dishes into a hot air fryer.
For more detail on materials, see What Containers Can You Put in an Air Fryer?
Give Your Bakes Room to Rise
Cake and muffin batters need space to expand.
For many muffin recipes, filling the cups around two-thirds full is a useful starting point, but always follow the recipe where it gives specific instructions.
Leave space around the baking dishes for airflow. Avoid overcrowding the basket or cooking chamber.
Do You Need to Preheat?
Not every air fryer baking recipe requires preheating.
For example, my Air Fryer Blueberry Lemon Muffins were made in the COSORI Dual Blaze without preheating.
Follow the method for the particular recipe and your appliance instructions rather than assuming every bake needs the same preparation.
Air Fryer Temperature and Cooking Time
Air fryers can cook differently from conventional ovens. Do not automatically copy an oven recipe's temperature and time into an air fryer.
Consider:
- The type of batter or filling
- The size and depth of the baking dish
- The number of portions being baked
- The air fryer model and cooking mode
- How quickly the top browns compared with the centre
Start with a suitable recipe or a cautious trial setting and check the result before deciding whether more cooking time is needed. No single temperature suits every cake, muffin and pastry.
How to Check Whether Your Bake Is Ready
- Muffins and cakes: check the centre with a skewer or cake tester. A clean skewer, or one with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter, is a useful indication of doneness.
- Egg-based breakfast bakes: check that the centre is properly set, not still runny, and follow appropriate egg cooking safety guidance.
- Pastries: look for properly cooked pastry, not just a browned surface. If a pastry contains meat, make sure the filling reaches its safe cooking temperature.
A golden top alone does not guarantee that the centre is cooked.
Sweet Air Fryer Baking: Blueberry Lemon Muffins
My Air Fryer Blueberry Lemon Muffins were made using Betty Crocker Lemon Cake Mix and fresh blueberries. Here is how I made them:
- Air fryer: COSORI Dual Blaze
- Temperature: 160°C
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
- Preheating: none
- Yield: 8 muffins
- Bakeware: 4 larger ramekins and 4 regular disposable aluminium muffin cups
The ramekins and muffin cups produced different muffin sizes from the same batter. These settings worked in my Dual Blaze; other air fryer models may need adjusting.
Savoury Air Fryer Baking: Smoked Salmon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Bake
Air fryer baking goes beyond cakes and muffins. My savoury breakfast bake combines eggs, smoked salmon, grated mozzarella, spinach, red onion, bell pepper and cherry tomatoes.
- Temperature: 180°C
- Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
- Bakeware: a butter-greased, oven-safe and air fryer-safe baking dish
- Doneness: cook until the egg mixture is set and the top is golden
- Finish: fresh parsley after cooking
Common Air Fryer Baking Mistakes
- Overfilling muffin cups or cake tins, which leaves the batter no room to rise.
- Crowding too many dishes into the cooking area, which restricts airflow.
- Using unsuitable bakeware that isn't rated for the temperature or permitted by your appliance.
- Assuming conventional oven times work unchanged.
- Judging doneness only by the colour of the top.
- Assuming all air fryers bake at exactly the same rate.
My Final Tip
Start with a recipe suited to your air fryer, choose the right baking dish and pay attention to the centre of the bake.
Once you understand how your own appliance behaves, it becomes easier to try different sweet and savoury dishes.
