Air Fryer Carrot Cake

Air Fryer Carrot cake is sweet, moist and super tasty. Covered with a simple cream cheese icing for a delicious treat. A great alternative to oven baking. 

I’ve found that with an air fryer sponge cake, I can use my usual loaf cake recipe, divide it into two 6-inch silicone cake moulds, and air fry. 

Generally, I air fry them for 10 minutes uncovered and 15 minutes covered, which is just under half the time I’d bake the loaf cake version in the oven. 

This didn’t work with my air fryer carrot cake. 

Carrot cake is denser than a basic sponge, and the mixture is wetter. There’s a lot more going on. 

So, while using the same recipe, split between the two tins, worked well, it took me a few attempts to get the bake time and temperature just right. 

If it was too hot, the cake was dry, but it was clear that it would need a lot longer to bake. 

If your air fryer is a different size or shape than mine or your tins are different, you might need to adjust the cooking time and temperature. 

Use this recipe as a guide, but don’t be surprised if you need to make some adjustments. 

Ingredients For Air Fryer Carrot Cake

For the air fryer carrot cake, I use:

Vegetable Oil

Eggs

Light Brown Soft Sugar

Vanilla Essence

Self-Raising Flour

Bicarbonate of Soda

Cinnamon

Ginger

Nutmeg

Mixed Spice – This isn’t essential if you’ve got the other spices, but adding a bit is worth it if you’ve got some. 

Carrots 

Raisins

Walnuts – Raisins and walnuts aren’t essential, but I like a bit of both. You can use pecans instead if you prefer.

And for the cream cheese icing:

Unsalted Butter 

Icing Sugar

Philadelphia Soft Cheese – We don’t really have blocks of cream cheese in England, so we use soft cheese. While own-brand options are okay, Philadelphia has a lower water content than most, which is better for icing. Whichever brand you choose, make sure it’s full fat. 

You’ll Also Need

You don’t have to use exactly the same as me. But if there are significant differences, you might need to adjust the recipe or method a little. As a guide, I use:

• Microplane grater. You want to grate the carrots finely, so a grater with little holes is a must!
• Sharp knife, chopping board, peeler
• Mixing bowl
• Electric whisk (affiliate link) – If you don’t have an electric whisk, it will take longer by hand.
• 6-inch cake tins. I use silicone (affiliate link).
• Oven-safe saucepan lid that fits your cake tin. If you don’t have anything like this, use tin foil.
• Spatula
• Cake scraper
• Cake leveller
• Turntable—These last three are optional, but they do make it easier to ice the outside of your cake. 

How to Air Fry Carrot Cake – Step-by-Step Instructions

Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step One

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla on medium power for 3 minutes until the colour has lightened and the mixture has thickened. If you are whisking by hand, this will take longer. 

Step Two

In another bowl, mix the flour, bi-carb, and spices. 

Step Three

Tip them into the oil mixture.

Step Four

Whisk together until even. 

Step Five

Whisk in the grated carrots. 

Step Six

Fold in the raisins and nuts. 

Step Seven

Preheat the air fryer to 170 degrees C and set it for 40 minutes. 

Step Eight

Pour the mixture evenly into two 6-inch tins that are suitable for your air fryer. Grease them first if you need to. 

Step Nine

Place the first cake carefully into the preheated air fryer basket on top of the tray and air fry for 20 minutes.

Step Ten

After 20 minutes, cover with a heatproof pan lid or tightly with foil, taking care to make sure it can’t blow off in the air fryer. If it gets loose, it will catch the element and burn. 

I use a metal saucepan lid that fits securely on top. 

Step Eleven 

Air fry for a further 20 minutes. 

Step Twelve

Check in several places with a skewer to make sure it is cooked through. Leave it in the basket for a few minutes before removing it and leaving it in the tin to cool completely. 

If it’s not ready, return to the air fryer uncovered, checking every 5 minutes. 

Step Thirteen

Repeat with the other cake. 

Step Fourteen

Once cool, remove from the tin carefully. 

Step Fifteen

Use a cake leveller or sharp knife to even the tops before icing if desired. I just take the very top off if there’s a big dome. 

Step Sixteen

For the cream cheese, beat the butter until soft. 

Step Seventeen

Add the icing sugar and whisk until smooth. Add a teaspoon of milk if it’s too thick to come together. 

Step Eighteen

Fold in the soft cheese, taking care not to overmix. It’s better to be under-mix or to have a few lumps than to overmix and be sloppy. 

Step Nineteen

Spread on one cake before topping it with the other, like a sandwich. 

Spread more icing on the top if desired.

How to Decorate Air Fryer Carrot Cake

I love cream cheese frosting on a carrot cake. The flavours just work really well together. 

Because air fryer carrot cakes aren’t always as even as oven-baked cakes, I’ve just spread a thin layer of cream cheese around the sides and evened it out using a simple cake scraper (affiliate link). This isn’t necessary, but I think that it looks really cool. 

To do this I first cover the top in a thicker layer, roughly spreading it on. 

Then, I use a spatula to spread a layer around the outsides before running my scraper around to remove excess and create a thin, even layer like on a naked celebration cake. 

If you’ve got a turn-table (affiliate link), it will be easier, but it’s a small cake, and it’s meant to look a little rough, so it’s fine to just do your best turning the cake board by hand. 

To finish, I’ve just sprinkled some walnut pieces in a circle around the edge on top.