This air fryer banana cake boasts a tender, light and moist crumb with lots of lovely banana flavour, studded with creamy milk chocolate chips.
I like to serve this cake with a cup of strong tea, but as it's pretty compact in size, it's perfectly portable too. Take it to picnics, coffee mornings, or to a friend's house as a little surprise gift and you will be very popular.
Now, baking a cake in your air fryer can prove tricky, and if you'd tried it before using a standing oven recipe and method, you might have found that it cooked on top, but sank in the centre, or even turned out raw and gloopy underneath.
This happens because most air fryers blast heat from the top down and even though this heat is designed to circulate, it will never be able to do so in the same way a more spacious oven can. The tin will always be mere inches from the grill by nature of the design.
So, to bake this air fryer banana cake, I've created a recipe that makes all the tweaks necessary to ensure a lovely, even, top-to-bottom bake.
- You'll use a small tin that allows maximum circulation around the air fryer basket.
- You'll use a metal tin as it more readily conducts heat.
- You'll avoid over filling your tin, so that the heat can reach the centre of the batter before the outside burns.
- You'll cover the top of your tin with foil for most of the bake to encourage the heat to reach the cake more evenly.
- You'll preheat your air fryer to give the heat from underneath a head start.
- You'll bake low and slow to give your cake a chance to cook through to the centre.
They're all really simple actions to follow, but they make the world of difference.
To make the banana cake batter, you'll cream light brown sugar and butter together, then add eggs and mashed banana, followed by flour and baking powder, finishing with chocolate chips.
You'll then pile the batter into your tin, cover with foil and bake for an hour, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes.
I know that sounds like a long time, but you don't have to turn the big oven on, which is a win, and you're going to get a perfect cake at the end of it, so it's well worth it!
Read on for the full recipe with detailed instructions and a helpful photograph for every step. And if you have any questions, just leave me a comment. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) salted butter or margarine
- 1 ripe banana peeled and mashed
- 85 g (3 oz) light brown sugar
- 1 medium free range eggs
- 140 g (4.9 oz) white self-raising flour (self-rising flour)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chocolate chunks
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula (or wooden spoon)
- 6-inch round baking tin
- Greaseproof paper
Instructions
Grease a 6-inch round baking tin and line the bottom.
Measure the sugar and butter / margarine into a mixing bowl.
Beat to combine.
Add the eggs and well-mashed banana.
Beat again. It will probably look split but that's fine, it'll come back together in a moment.
Sift in the flour and baking powder.
Fold to combine.
Add the chocolate chunks.
Fold again.
Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking tin.
Fold a pleat into a piece of foil and cover the top of the tin with it.
Preheat the air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine defaults to 4 minutes at 205C.
Place the cake tin in the air fryer basket, set it to 150C and bake for 60 minutes, removing the foil top for the final 10 minutes.
Place the tin on a cooling rack for a few minutes, then lift the cake out of the tin to cool on the rack completely.
Isn't that perfect?!
Look at that lovely crumb!
Slice with a fine serrated blade or sharp kitchen knife and enjoy! I always think serving on a crisp white saucer with a cute little cake fork makes everything extra special.
And there's always room for a second slice...
Once you've given my recipe a go, I'd love you to come back and leave a comment letting me know how yours turned out.
I'd love to see your videos and pics, too! Just tag me on social media. I'm @emilylearycooks on Twitter and TikTok or @amummytoo on Instagram.
Print This Air Fryer Banana Cake Recipe
Air Fryer Banana Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) salted butter or margarine
- 1 ripe banana peeled and mashed
- 85 g (3 oz) light brown sugar
- 1 medium free range eggs
- 140 g (4.9 oz) white self-raising flour (self-rising flour)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chocolate chunks
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula (or wooden spoon)
- 6-inch round baking tin
- Greaseproof paper
Instructions
- Grease a 6-inch round baking tin and line the bottom.
- Measure the sugar and butter / margarine into a mixing bowl and beat to combine.
- Beat in the eggs and well-mashed banana. It will probably look split but that's fine, it'll come back together in a moment.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold to combine, then fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking tin.
- Fold a pleat into a piece of foil and cover the top of the tin with it.
- Preheat the air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine defaults to 4 minutes at 205C.
- Place the cake tin in the air fryer basket, set it to 150C and bake for 60 minutes, removing the foil top for the final 10 minutes.
- Place the tin on a cooling rack for a few minutes, then lift the cake out of the tin to cool on the rack completely.
Nutrition
More air fryer bakes to try
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