Air Fryer Victoria Sponge Cake Traybake
, Published Jul 03, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Bake the perfect Victoria Sponge Cake Traybake in your air fryer! A light and buttery sponge sandwiched together with strawberry jam and topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. Perfect for a quick and easy dessert option and great for serving a crowd.
Post may contain affiliate links. For more information, check my disclosure
Victoria Sponge Cake is one of my absolute favorite classic bakes. So simple yet so delicious – the beautiful vanilla sponge sandwiched with jam and topped with a dusting of icing sugar or fresh cream and berries… a cream and berries cake is a summer fave, right?
I already have a few Victoria Sponge cake recipes on SupergoldenBakes, but this time I am sharing an Air Fryer Victoria Sponge cake, in tray bake or sheet cake form. If you are saying “wait a minute, can I bake a cake in my air fryer?” I am here to tell you you definitely can, and you should!
In fact I just published an entire cookbook, Easy Air Fryer Bakes, on the subject, so I have had quite a bit of practice 🙂 Baking in your air fryer is not all that different from baking in an oven but there are a few things you should know before you get started.
Fear not, I will walk you through all the tips, tricks and pitfalls so that you can make this delicious air fryer cake and a lot more besides.
This Victoria Sponge tray bake is the little sibling to my Fresh Berry Cake, using the berry medley decoration that looks so spectacular. You don’t HAVE to decorate it like that of course, I just get into a zen mode when adding all the berries. It’s very therapeutic!
VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE INGREDIENTS
Let’s take a look at the ingredients so you can plan your grocery list.
- Self-raising flour (a.k.a self rising) – make sure it is fresh as it doesn’t have a very long self life
- Sugar – caster sugar is best but granulated works also
- Softened unsalted butter or margarine / baking spread such as Stork
- Medium eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Strawberry jam or jam of your choice to sandwich the cake together with
- Double cream, icing sugar and vanilla for the whipped cream topping
- Fresh berries such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries to decorate
HOW TO MAKE AN AIR FRYER VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE TRAY BAKE
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The first thing to do before anything else is to check whether the cake tin fits comfortably in your air fryer basket. My InstantVortex air fryer can comfortably accommodate a 7-inch square cake pan and my larger air fryers can fit an 8-inch square pan. Mist your tin with cake release and line the bottom with baking paper.
PREPARE THE CAKE
Sift the self-raising flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the softened butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat everything together using a hand or stand mixer (ever since I got my cordless KitchenAid hand mixer I haven’t looked back!). Mix until the batter is completely smooth, scraping your mixing bowl with a spatula halfway through.
AIR FRY
Transfer the batter into the prepared cake tin and level. Preheat the air fryer to 160°C (325°F) if it has this function. Place the cake tin into the air fryer basket and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick tester inserted in the middle comes out completely clean. If the tester comes out with wet batter or lots of moist crumbs you will need to add 5 minutes to the baking time, or as needed.
COOL THE CAKE, SLICE AND FILL
Take the basket out of the air fryer and place on a heat resistant surface, leaving the cake tin in it for 5 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
Bring the sugar, water and vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is quite viscous.
Slice the cake in half using a cake leveller and brush with the hot sugar syrup on both of the cut sides, letting the syrup sink into the sponge. This will keep your Victoria sponge beautifully moist and fresh for longer.
Spread the jam on the bottom layer, edge to edge, and sandwich with the second.
DECORATE THE CAKE
Whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla on medium-low speed with a hand or stand mixer until peaks form. Lower speed allows you to control the thickness of the cream – you don’t want to over-whip it or it might curdle.
Pipe or spread the cream on top of the cake. Slice the berries, keeping any smaller ones whole. Place them cut side down on a paper towel to absorb any moisture. Arrange the berries over the cream, starting with the strawberries and filling any smaller gaps with blueberries and raspberries. Slice and serve immediately!
RECIPE TIPS
• When baking a cake in an air fryer you will notice that the top cooks quickly due to the heat circulating from above. This may fool you into thinking the cake is done but that perfectly golden sponge can hide uncooked batter underneath! You MUST check the middle of the cake with a toothpick or skewer – if there’s wet batter you need to bake for longer! An instant read thermometer is super useful also – the center should register 98°C/210°F when baked.
• Clip any baking paper that overhangs the cake tin down with these cute mini clips. If you don’t, the air will push it down into the wet batter.
• The cake can be baked up to two days ahead and kept at room temperature, wrapped with cling film. Once the cake is decorated with the cream and berries it needs to be eaten on the same day and kept in the fridge as it contains fresh cream.
• You can keep things simple and just fill with jam and dust with icing sugar if you want to keep the cake for longer. Without the cream and berries it will last for 2-3 days in an air tight container at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.
RELATED RECIPES
Air Fryer Victoria Sponge Traybake
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 260 g (2 cups) self raising flour
- 250 g ( 1 ¼ cup) caster sugar or granulated
- 4 medium eggs (US large eggs)
- 115 g (½ cup) softened unsalted butter or margarine / baking spread (Stork)
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
For the Vanilla Syrup
- 100 g (½ cup) sugar granulated
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) water
To fill
- 5 tbsp strawberry jam , or as needed
To Decorate
- 240 ml (1 cup) cream double / heavy
- 4 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 300 g (2 cups) strawberries
- 250 g (2 cups) raspberries
- 200 g (1 cup) blueberries
Instructions
FIRST THINGS FIRST
- The first thing to do before anything else is to check whether the cake tin fits comfortably in your air fryer basket. My InstantVortex air fryer can comfortably accommodate a 7-inch square cake pan and my larger air fryers can fit an 8-inch square pan. Mist your tin with cake release and line the bottom with baking paper.
PREPARE THE CAKE
- Sift the self-raising flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the softened butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat everything together using a hand or stand mixer (ever single I got my cordlress KitchenAid hand mixer I haven’t looked back!). Mix until the batter is completely smooth, scraping your mixing bowl with a spatula halfway through.260 g (2 cups) self raising flour, 250 g ( 1 ¼ cup) caster sugar, 4 medium eggs, 115 g (½ cup) softened unsalted butter, 80 ml (⅓ cup) milk, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
AIR FRY
- Transfer the batter into the prepared cake tin and level. Preheat the air fryer to 160°C (325°F) if it has this function. Place the cake tin into the air fryer basket and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick tester inserted in the middle comes out completely clean. If the tester comes out with wet batter or lots of moist crumbs you will need to add 5 minutes to the baking time, or as needed.
COOL THE CAKE, SLICE AND FILL
- Take the air fryer basket out and place on a heat resistant surface, leaving the cake tin in it for 5 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
- Bring the sugar, water and vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is quite viscous.100 g (½ cup) sugar, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 80 ml (⅓ cup) water
- Slice the cake in half using a cake leveller and brush with the hot sugar syrup on both of the cut sides, letting the syrup sink into the sponge. This will keep your Victoria sponge beautifully moist and fresh for longer. Spread the jam on the bottom layer and sandwich with the second.5 tbsp strawberry jam
DECORATE THE CAKE
- Beat the cream, icing sugar and vanilla on medium-low speed with a hand or stand mixer until peaks form. Lower speed allows you to control the thickness of the cream – you don’t want to overwhip it.240 ml (1 cup) cream, 4 tbsp icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Pipe or spread the cream on top of the cake. Slice the berries, keeping any smaller ones whole. Place them cut side down on a paper towel to absorb any moisture. Arrange the berries over the cream, starting with the strawberries and filling any smaller gaps with blueberries and raspberries. Slice and serve immediately!300 g (2 cups) strawberries, 250 g (2 cups) raspberries, 200 g (1 cup) blueberries
Notes
- If your are using plain flour (all purpose flour) add 2 1/2 tsp baking powder in with the flour and sugar.
- Note that air fryers can vary in their cooking and baking temperatures. Check on your cake after 35 minutes and adjust the cooking time if needed.
- When baking a cake in an air fryer you will notice that the top cooks quickly due to the heat circulating from above. This may fool you into thinking the cake is done but it that perfectly golden sponge can hide uncooked batter underneath! You MUST check the middle of the cake with a toothpick or skewer – if there’s wet batter you need to bake for longer! An instant read thermometer is super useful also – the centre should register 98°C/210°F when baked.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
this was so lovely