Air Fryer Sponge Cake | Eggless Vanilla Cake
on Jan 18, 2023, Updated Jan 16, 2025
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Soft, fluffy and so moist – you need to make this Air Fryer Sponge Cake! Made entirely in the air fryer and with just a handful of ingredients, this cake is simple and delicious. Dress it up with some whipped cream or eat it as is for a tea time cake – this one always works!
Looking for more Air Fryer recipes? Try my Air Fryer Kurkuri Bhindi, Air Fryer Papdi, Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breasts or Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries that are super crispy!
Having a chocolate or vanilla sponge cake in the fridge is such a life saver. It’s perfect for everything – from random dessert cravings to unexpected guests. And it’s even better when the said cake has an extremely fuss free recipe and requires only 7 ingredients!
But what makes my Air Fryer Sponge Cake even more interesting is it is made without condensed milk and instead, uses yogurt and oil to achieve that beautiful moist and fluffy texture. I really don’t think it gets better than this!
I usually make this eggless vanilla sponge cake in my oven, but wanted to try baking it in my air fryer. If you’ve read my What is an Air Fryer article on the blog, you’d know that an air fryer and an oven are essentially the same thing, which is why I was curious about how this cake would turn out in an air fryer. And let me tell you that the result is just perfect – a sure moist, fluffy and delicious cake that you just won’t be able to have enough of!
Air Fryer – I use the Nutricook 5.5L Air Fryer
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Reasons Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A moist, spongy and delicious vanilla cake that makes for the perfect dessert or snack.
- Requires just 7 easily-available ingredients
- Super customisable. Can be topped with fruits, cream, chocolate or any other topping of your choice
- Stays perfectly moist for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator
- A super easy cake recipe that’s perfect for beginners too
- It’s a 100% vegetarian recipe
Ingredients Overview
- Flour – I have used all purpose flour or maida for this recipe as it makes the softest cakes. I do not recommend subbing it with any other type of flour.
- Baking powder – A teaspoon to help the batter to rise when baking
- Baking soda – Helps the cake achieve that soft and fluffy texture we all love!
- Curd – This cake is made without condensed milk, and I have replaced it with curd for a fluffy, spongy texture. I have used homemade hung card for this recipe, but you can replace it with unflavoured Greek yogurt.
- Oil – Makes the cake beautifully moist for days. Any neutral-flavoured oil like sunflower, peanut or canola works well here.
- Sugar – I have used regular white sugar for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract – The star ingredient that’s responsible for the delicious vanilla-y flavour of the cake.
How to make Air Fryer Vanilla Cake
Here’s a step-by-step collage showing you how to make air fryer vanilla sponge cake:
1. Preheat the air fryer to 180C. Grease and line a round 6 inch baking pan with oil and parchment paper. Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda into a bowl and keep aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, add sugar, curd, oil and vanilla essence. Beat on low speed with a hand/stand mixer until just combined. Make sure the oil has blended well. Scrape down sides of the bowl and increase the mixer speed gradually. Beat for 5-7 minutes or until sugar has almost dissolved.
3. Add the dry ingredients mix to this in three parts. Use a rubber spatula to fold and mix the batter evenly. Don’t worry if the batter looks slightly lumpy, however do NOT over mix.
4. If the batter feels too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time and adjust the consistency. This will depend on the thickness of the yogurt you use.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Place the pan in the air fryer and bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes. It may take longer based on your air fryer capacity. Just bake it for 30 minutes and check every couple of minutes. Bake until it is firm to touch and a skewer/knife inserted into the baked cake comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool before for 20-30 minutes demoulding. Layer and frost once cool or serve plain along with hot tea!
Richa’s Top Tips
- Preheat the air fryer for a couple of minutes before putting the batter inside. Even though this isn’t always necessary in an air fryer, I just find cakes bake better in a preheated appliance
- Use a smaller pan size for baking. I have used a 6-inch pan to make this recipe and would recommend it as this size fits perfectly in most air fryers.
- Thoroughly grease your pan with butter and then line it with some butter paper. This prevents the cake from sticking to the pan and makes demoulding it super fuss-free at the end.
- Don’t overfill the cake pan and leave enough room for the batter to rise. About half-filled is a sweet spot. You can bake the batter in two batches if you have a very small cake pan.
- The cook time may vary in different air fryers, so make sure to check every few minutes after about 20 minutes to check if it’s done.
- To check if the cake is done, insert a knife into it. If the knife turns out clean, the cake is done. If not, allow it to bake for a few more minutes and repeat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, absolutely! You can make any type of cake in an air fryer and it turns out just as great as the ones made in an oven. Depending on the size of the air fryer, you may need to bake a smaller cake as compared to an oven. But other than that an air fryer is a perfectly great option for baking cakes.
Yes, you can use any cake tin, dish or mould that works with your oven in your air fryer too. Just be mindful of the size of the as air fryers are usually smaller. The most common materials that work in an air fryer are ceramic, silicone, glass and metal (aluminium or steel.)
This usually depends on the size of the air fryer and the quantity of cake you’re baking. But generally, a small size air fryer takes anywhere between 25-30 minutes to bake a cake. I would recommend checking the doneness every couple minutes after baking for 25 minutes.
Topping Ideas
- Whipped cream or buttercream frosting
- Fruits – strawberries, blueberries, canned pineapple, etc
- Generous drizzling of honey or maple syrup
- Assortment of nuts, raisins, etc
- Jam (Mixed fruit or Marmalade)
In case you don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry, here’s my recipe to make this vanilla cake in an oven. Though it takes slightly longer to bake than this air fryer version, the result is just as moist and delicious.
Who would have thought baking a delicious and versatile cake would ever be this simple!
Watch How To Make Air Fryer Sponge Cake
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Air Fryer Sponge Cake | Eggless Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (Maida), 187.5 g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt (Hung Curd) at room temperature, approx 200 g
- ¾ cup Sugar, approx 150 g
- ½ cup Oil, approx 112 g
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons Water, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 180C. Grease and line a round 6 inch baking pan with oil and parchment paper.
- Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda into a bowl and keep aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add sugar, curd, oil and vanilla essence. Beat on low speed with a hand/stand mixer until just combined. Make sure the oil has blended well. Scrape down sides of the bowl and increase the mixer speed gradually. Beat for 5-7 minutes or until sugar has almost dissolved.
- Add the dry ingredients mix to this in three parts. Use a rubber spatula to fold and mix the batter evenly. Don't worry if the batter looks slightly lumpy but don't overmix. If the batter feels too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time and adjust the consistency. This will depend on the thickness of the yogurt you use.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Place the pan in the air fryer and bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes. It may take longer based on your air fryer capacity. Just bake it for 30 minutes and check every couple of minutes. Bake until it is firm to touch and a skewer/knife inserted into the baked cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool before for 20-30 minutes demoulding. Layer and frost once cool or serve plain along with hot tea!
Video
Notes
- Keep all your ingredients at room temperature, especially the yogurt Remember to prep and measure your ingredients before you begin.
- This is a quick recipe, the batter comes together in just 10 minutes so be sure to keep the prep ready to go.
- Preheat the air fryer for a couple of minutes before putting the batter inside. Even though this isn’t always necessary in an air fryer, I just find cakes bake better in a preheated appliance
- Use a smaller pan size for baking. I used a 6-inch pan to make this recipe and would recommend it as it fits perfectly in most air fryers.
- Thoroughly grease your pan with butter and then line it with some butter paper. This prevents the cake from sticking to the pan and makes demoulding it super fuss-free at the end.
- Don’t overfill the cake pan and leave enough room for the batter to rise. About half-filled is a sweet spot. You can bake the batter in two batches if you have a very small cake pan.
- The cook time may vary in different air fryers, so make sure to check every few minutes after about 20 minutes to check if it’s done.
- To check if the cake is done, insert a knife into it. If the knife turns out clean, the cake is done. If not, allow it to bake for a few more minutes and repeat.
do you use the bake setting or the air fryer setting?
Hey Cath, this recipe gives you baking instructions using the air fryer setting
I really like your recipe.
Dear Richa
Your recipes look really awesome and delicious, congratulations. We recommend you to use yummyrecipe.co, our official recipe sharing site, to get more visitors and food lovers to this beautiful blog. It’s completely free and very easy to use.
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Thanks