Go Back
Slice of air fryer apple cake with a glazed spiral of apple slices on top

Air Fryer Apple Cake

Roasted apples blended into the batter make a cake so moist it stays tender for days, finished with a glazed spiral of thin apple slices.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 58 minutes
Cooling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 38 minutes
Servings: 8 slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the roasted apples
  • 2 medium apples peeled, cored and halved
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the batter
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lemon zested
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil for the parchment
For the topping
  • 1 medium apple peel on, sliced 2 mm thick
  • 3 tablespoons plum or apricot jam

Method
 

  1. Line the air fryer basket with parchment. Set the apple halves cut side up, put a little butter in each hollow and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roast at 350F (175C) for 15 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
  2. Sift the flour into a bowl and whisk in the baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
  3. In a second bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and falling off the whisk in a ribbon.
  4. Scrape the roasted apples into a blender with every drop of juice from the parchment. Add the cream and blend to a thick, glossy puree.
  5. Add the lemon zest, fold the puree into the beaten eggs, then pour into the flour. Fold gently just until no dry streaks remain.
  6. Line the cake pan with parchment, brush with olive oil and pour in the batter, no more than two thirds up the sides. Bake at 320F (160C) for 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
  7. Slice the remaining apple 2 mm thick, peel on, and lay the slices over the baked cake in an overlapping spiral.
  8. Warm the jam with a teaspoon of water, brush it over the slices and return the cake to the air fryer at 350F (175C) for 8 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Storage: keep the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days. The apple puree keeps the crumb moist, so it does not dry out the way a plain butter cake does. Freeze whole or in slices, wrapped tight, up to 3 months.
Apple puree: you can roast the apples up to 2 days ahead and keep the puree in the fridge. Bring it back to room temperature before mixing, or the batter will seize.
Substitutions: heavy cream can be replaced by the same volume of whole-milk yogurt or sour cream. Plum jam can be replaced by apricot, peach or apple jelly, warmed and strained.
No air fryer for the apples: roast them at 400F/200C in a conventional oven for 20 to 25 minutes instead, then continue with the recipe.
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from standard ingredient values, not a laboratory analysis. It will change with the size of your apples and the jam you use.