This air fryer apple cake is perfect for a small family. No need to heat up the whole oven and if your family is small, there won’t be a ton of leftovers. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand!
Mom approved Air Fryer Apple Cake
My mother loved a good coffee cake and this apple snack cake was one she made often. The thing is, her recipe is for a standard 13 x 9 inch pan (33 x 23 cm).
It’s just too much for a small family, especially when some of us are on (perpetual) diets.
That’s why I’ve sized this recipe to fit into a smaller, 11 x 7 inch (28 x 18 cm) pan. Better still, I’ve worked out the timing for cooking in my Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven.
The resulting apple cake is loaded with tender apples and pieces of walnuts. The slices are on the thin side, but unlike some bar type snack cakes this one stays moist even after a couple of days. It’s perfect for an afternoon snack or a special lunchbox treat.
If you already have the Foodi Digital Oven you may be wondering why I didn’t use the large square pan that comes with it. Well, the truth is, when I was experimenting with the recipe my first instinct was to just cut the measurements in half, which turned out to be the right decision.
However, the large square pan was too large for the volume of dough. My little rectangular pan fits in the oven and is the right size. Problem solved!
Even though I had to make the cake a second time to “double check” the recipe, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Plus, we were able to share with our neighbors. That’s always nice.
Ingredients
The Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cups light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
The Wet Ingredients
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup neutral tasting vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 – 2 teaspoons water, as needed
The Stars of the Show
- 1½ cups finely diced tart apple (like Granny Smith) 2 – 3 whole apples depending on size
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Peel, core and dice the apples into small pieces.
- Chop the nuts as necessary
- In a large mixing bowl, measure all the dry ingredients and stir well to combine.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the oil and vanilla.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet mix. Add the apples and nuts on top. Stir to combine.
- The dough should be crumbly and damp; more like streusel than cake batter. If too dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time until the dough is evenly moist.
- Prepare the baking dish with cooking spray and set the Ninja Foodi to Air Bake for 35 minutes at 350°F/180°C.
- When the oven is preheated slide in the baking dish and bake, turning the dish about halfway through. The cake is done when the top of the snack cake is golden brown, the edges of the cake will have pulled away from the sides, and a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean.
Notes
When I first published the recipe in 2015, it gave me the opportunity to reminisce about my mother. You will find the original with measurements for a 13 x 9 pan here.
More apple recipes to try:
Amazing!!! I made half apple half pear. I added a streusel topping and it turned out just delicious! Making another one now(2 days later lol)!!!