Easy Air Fryer Cake

Ingredients

• 175g Caster Sugar
• 175g Margarine – Or room temperature unsalted butter.
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 175g Self-Raising Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

For the Filling:

• 75g Unsalted Butter – at room temperature.
• 75g Icing Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Milk – I use semi-skimmed.
• 2 Tablespoons Jam

Instructions

1. Whisk together the margarine and caster sugar until smooth.
2. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
3. Whisk in the vanilla.
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder.
5. Whisk until smooth.
6. Preheat your air fryer to 160 degrees C and set for 25 minutes.
7. Evenly divide the mixture between two tins and spread evenly.
8. Place the first tin in the air fryer and bake for 10 minutes.
9. After 10 minutes, open the drawer and cover the tin with foil or a heatproof metal pan lid. If you use foil, make sure it’s secured in place so it doesn’t blow off.
10. Return to the air fryer for the final 15 minutes.
11. Remove the cover and use a skewer to make sure the cake’s centre is cooked. If not, return it to the air fryer, recovering and checking every few minutes.
12. Once cooked, remove it from the air fryer and leave it in the tin to cool.
13. Reset the air fryer and repeat with the second cake.
14. Beat the butter to soften for the buttercream.
15. Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
16. If the mixture is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk and mix in until it’s spreadable.
17. Once the cakes are cool, remove them from the tins and use a leveller or sharp knife to level off one of the cakes.
18. Spread the levelled cake with buttercream.
19. Turn the other cake upside down and spread the flat bottom liberally with jam.
20. Place this cake on top of the other so the jam and buttercream are sandwiched in the middle.
21. Dust with icing sugar to finish.
23. Notes
    • If you are using metal tins, make sure you grease or line with baking parchment. You can grease silicone if you are worried, but it’s not usually necessary.
    • You can bake both cakes simultaneously if your air fryer has two drawers or one very large drawer.
    • A metal saucepan lid is the ideal cover – it doesn’t blow about like foil, and you can place it on very quickly, which helps to keep the temperature consistent.
    • Read the post above for more tips and advice.