Air Fryer Apple Cake

Name: Air Fryer Apple Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 85 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Golden delicious apples (to be cleaned) 1.1 lbs; Type 00 flour 2 cups; Sugar 0.7 cup; Eggs about 2 medium 3.9 oz; Butter 7 tbsp; Whole milk ½ cup; Baking powder 4 tsp; Lemon juice 4 tsp; Lemon peel 1; Fine salt to taste; Sugar 1 ½ tbsp; Powdered sugar 4 tsp

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Serving: 6
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Air Fryer Apple Cake skips the oven entirely and still delivers what a good apple cake should: a tall, moist crumb and a thin golden crust on top that sets the moment it cools. The air fryer produces that surface texture reliably, without preheating a full oven or waiting on it to hold temperature.

Two details matter most: lemon zest, which sharpens the apple flavor and keeps the crumb from tasting flat, and the right apple variety, which affects both moisture and structure. Get those right and the texture lands where it should — not gummy, not dry. The cake takes well to aromatics, dried fruit, or chocolate chips, so it works equally well for breakfast or an afternoon snack without feeling like the same thing twice.

INGREDIENTS

for an 8-inch (20 cm) pan: Golden delicious apples 1.1 lbs (480 g) - (to be cleaned); Type 00 flour 2 cups (250 g); Sugar 0.7 cup (120 g); Eggs 3.9 oz (110 g) - about 2 medium; Butter 7 tbsp (100 g); Whole milk ½ cup (100 g); Baking powder 4 tsp (16 g); Lemon juice 4 tsp (20 g); Lemon peel 1; Fine salt to taste

For the topping: Sugar 1 ½ tbsp (20 g); Powdered sugar 4 tsp (10 g)

Preparation

How to prepare Air Fryer Apple Cake

To prepare the air fryer apple cake, first peel the apples 1, then cut half into 5/8-inch (1.5 cm) cubes 2 and half into slices about 3/8-inch (1 cm) thick 3.

Place the apple cubes and slices in separate bowls, squeeze the lemon juice and set aside 4. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. In a large bowl, add the eggs, the sugar 5 and the grated lemon zest 6.

Add the slightly cooled melted butter first 7, then the milk 8, whisking well to combine. Fold in the sifted flour 9.

Also add the sifted baking powder 10. Finally, fold in the apple cubes 11 and mix carefully with a spatula 12.

Transfer the batter into a greased 8-inch (20 cm) pan lined with parchment paper and level it well 13. Arrange the apple slices on top 14 and sprinkle with sugar 15.

Place it in the air fryer basket (we used a 6.5-liter (≈6.9 qt) air fryer) 16 and cook at 311°F (155°C) for 40 minutes, covering it with a sheet of aluminum foil after the first 10 minutes 17. After 40 minutes, lower the temperature to 302°F (150°C) and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. At this point lower to 284°F (140°C) and cook for another 20 minutes. Finally, lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and leave to cook for another 15 minutes. We recommend always performing the toothpick test to be sure. Once baked, let your air fryer apple cake cool 18 before dusting it with powdered sugar!