Banana Cake in Air Fryer is wonderfully soft, fluffy with perfect texture and flavor. With a hint of vanilla, soft crunch from walnuts, it is an easy and fool proof cake in an air fryer.
Confession time – Until a month I was skeptical about baking a cake in an air fryer! My first air fryer baking experiment was the chocolate chip cookies and they were a huge success. That recipe has been consistently a reader favorite since it was published.
Air fryer cakes are perfect when you are looking for a smaller cake or don’t have access to ovens (perfect for dorm baking). These cakes tends to be more darker top when compared to oven baked cakes, due to the hot air blowing on top. However, the cakes tends to stay soft in the inside and the darker color looks great as well.
The Secret
The secret to a soft banana cake using air fryer is two different cooking temperatures! The air fryer is left to pre heat at 340° for 5 minutes and then the cake is baked at 330°. The pre heating works similar to oven by making sure that the air fryer is hot enough to kick start the baking cake as soon as it is placed into it.
Banana breads, Banana muffins, Mini Walnut Banana Muffins and even a super quick microwave banana mug cake are some of our favorite way to use up over ripe bananas that no one wants to eat anymore. They are delicious for breakfast, dessert or a snack anytime.
Banana Cake in Air Fryer is
- Soft and fluffy
- No mixers required
- Stir and bake
- Basic ingredients
- 6 inch cake (perfect for a small family)
Main ingredients
Banana – Use ugly over ripe bananas (dark yellow skin with lots of brown spots).
All purpose flour – Regular all purpose flour
Sugar – Golden brown sugar or light (we recommend not using dark brown sugar – scroll down for more on this).
Egg – One large egg
Leavening – Baking powder and baking soda
Dairy – Plain yogurt (Refer notes to use greek yogurt)
Oil – Any neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil
Walnuts – Raw chopped walnuts or pecans
Method
Mix dry – Whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
Mix wet – Whisk together mashed banana, brown sugar, yogurt, oil, egg and vanilla extract, until smooth.
Finish batter – Stir dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined (do not over mix). Transfer batter to a greased 6-inch cake pan, smooth top and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
Bake – Pre heat air fryer to 340 degrees for 5 minutes (I use this time to make the batter). When 5 minutes is done, set air fryer to 330 degrees for 35 minutes. When hot, place the cake pan and cook until done.
Cool – Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert tips
Use over ripe bananas – Ugly over ripe bananas (dark yellow skin with lots of brown spots).
Mash the bananas thoroughly. I like to use a potato masher, but a fork would also do the trick.
Use greek yogurt – Use 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt along with 2 tablespoons water instead of the regular yogurt in the recipe.
Air fryer temperature – The cake is baked at two different temperatures. The air fryer is left to pre heat at 340° for 5 minutes and then cake is baked at 330°. The pre heating works similar to oven by making sure that the air fryer is hot enough to kick start the baking cake as soon as it is placed into it.
Cake pan – A 6-inch round baking pan.
Don’t over mix – As with all baking recipes, over mixing the batter tends to make a tougher baked product.
Check for doneness
As we mentioned earlier, air fryer cake tends to have a much darker top, when compared to oven baked ones. So, though the cake might look done before 35 minutes, it might still need more time. Hence, we recommend inserting a large toothpick / skewer / small knife into the middle of the cake and make sure it comes clean without any batter sticking to it.
Golden Brown sugar – Apart from incredible caramel flavor, brown sugar also makes a soft and moist banana cake. Dark brown sugar tends to make much more darker, so recommend using golden or light brown sugar.
Can I skip the walnuts to make it nut free? Absolutely! The cake will still be fabulous.
Air Fryer used – This recipe was tested in Instant Pot 6qt Vortex Air Fryer, cooking time may vary for other brands.
Got more overripe bananas? Check out these recipes – Banana Muffins made with almond flour, Healthy Blender Waffles, Baked Oatmeal Cups, Banana Date Smoothie, Banana Sheet Cake and Healthy Pineapple Smoothie.
Storage instructions
Cooled cake can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for about 3 days. But, it doesn’t last that long in our home.
To Freeze – Wrap cooled cake in plastic wrap, place in a large zip lock bag and seal well. Freeze for up to a month. Simple let the cake thaw at room temperature overnight.
More Cakes like this air fry banana cake: Carrot Cake, Black Forest Mug Cake, Microwave Mango Cake, Almond flour cake, Kulfi Ice Cream Cake Recipe, Rasmalai Cake and Orange Cake.
FAQs
That is mainly because the cake was removed before having a chance to be fully cooked. So, please make sure to bake for an approximate of 35 minutes and check for doneness before removing.
No, this cake is great stored at room temperature.
Absolutely! Cut cooled cake into two layers (please refer this informative article on how to cut a cake into even layers)
More popular air fryer recipes: Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets, Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings Recipe, Chicken Patties in Air Fryer, Tandoori gobi recipe, Egg Omelette Air Fryer, Crispy Roasted Broccoli, Air Fryer Tilapia, Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan, Crispy Air fried Shrimp, Garlic Bread, French Toast and Chicken Parmesan Wings.
More Air Fryer Desserts
Bread and Butter Pudding in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
Air Fryer Banana Cake
Banana Cake in Air Fryer is wonderfully soft, fluffy with perfect texture and flavor. With a hint of vanilla, soft crunch from walnuts, it is an easy and fool proof cake in an air fryer.
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons mashed banana (about 1 very large)
- 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (refer notes to use greek yogurt)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional ingredients
Equipments used
Instructions
1. Pre heat air fryer to 340°F for 5 minutes (the air fryer will run empty during this time, this helps to kick start the baking process). Prepare cake batter in the mean time (if you are a beginner to baking, then we recommend this preheating process when you are in about step 3 or 4 of prepping the cake batter).
1. Grease a 6-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Add all dry ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until combined.
3. Add all wet ingredients into a larger bowl, whisk until smooth and combined. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula, until combined well (DO NOT OVER MIX).
4. Transfer batter to the prepared pan, smooth top and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
5. (The air fryer would have done pre heating by now). Set air fryer to 330°F for 35 minutes. When ready, place the cake pan into the air fryer basket and bake until done and brown.
6. Check by inserting a knife into the middle of the cake and it needs to come out clean.
(Air fryer cake tends to have a much darker top, when compared to oven baked ones. So, though the cake might look done before 35 minutes, it might still need more time. Hence, we recommend inserting a large toothpick / skewer / small knife into the middle of the cake and make sure it comes clean without any batter sticking to it)
7. Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Use over ripe bananas – Ugly over ripe bananas (dark yellow skin with lots of brown spots).
Mash the bananas thoroughly. I like to use a potato masher, but a fork would also do the trick.
Use greek yogurt - Use 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt along with 2 tablespoons water instead of the regular yogurt in the recipe.
Air fryer temperature – The cake is baked at two different temperatures. The air fryer is left to pre heat at 340° for 5 minutes and then cake is baked at 330°. The pre heating works similar to oven by making sure that the air fryer is hot enough to kick start the baking cake as soon as it is placed into it.
Cake pan – A 6-inch round baking pan.
Don’t over mix – As with all baking recipes, over mixing the batter tends to make a tougher baked product.
Brown sugar- Use golden or light brown sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 220mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
I am not a certified dietician or nutritionist. The information is a product of online calculator such as Nutrifox.com, although Kitchen at Hoskins attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates and not be construed as a guarantee. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their fact algorithms. Under no circumstances will Kitchen at Hoskins be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the nutritional information. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate.
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Jennifer
Monday 8th of November 2021
No oil mentioned in ingredients list recipe made the cake then realised oil was missing how much oil please
Maria Doss
Monday 29th of November 2021
@Therest, Hi Therest, Due to an unfortunate error, we seem to have missed the vegetable oil (the recipe has been updated now). Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention and please accept our sincere apologies, Maria
Maria Doss
Monday 29th of November 2021
@Jennifer, Hi Jennifer, We are extremely sorry for the error on our end. There is in fact 1/4 cup vegetable oil in the recipe and due to an unfortunate error, it has been missed. Please accept our sincere apologies (the recipe has corrected with the necessary changes), Maria
Therest
Monday 22nd of November 2021
@Maria Doss,
The picture and video show oil added ??
Maria Doss
Tuesday 9th of November 2021
Hi Jennifer, There is no oil used in this cake recipe, Maria