All air fryers come with some type of control panel. Often that will be a digital display with a variety of buttons, such as temperature control, on and off button and cooking program buttons. Your air fryer will also come with a basket or a tray to hold the food as it cooks. The baking time will probably be a bit longer than what your recipe calls for if you use a full-size (e.g., 8” round) pan; smaller pans will require less time.

My favorite pan for air fryer cakes is a half-size Bundt pan (about 3-cup working capacity). With its center tube funneling hot air not just around the edges of the cake but through its center, it’s a better match for the air fryer’s convection baking than the standard round cake pan. As for capacity, it holds a typical recipe calling for an 8” square, 8” round, or 9” round pan; or half of a sheet cake recipe ( 9” x 13” pan). That depends on the model. The air fryers we’ve tested have a claimed capacity between 0.3kg and 2.2kg of food. If we assume an average person will eat approximately 250g of chips in one sitting, this is enough for anywhere between one and nine portions. Instead of the options above, try an edible topping baked straight into the cake. Not only does adding a topping midway through the bake keep your cake’s top crust from getting too brown, but it also means you don’t have to think about frosting later: Your cake is ready to enjoy right out of the fryer.Place the air fryer on a stable surface away from other objects and appliances and ensure the power cable is not twisted. An average air fryer takes between 20 and 40 minutes to produce golden-brown chips – but our tests found significant differences between the worst and best models – some can take much longer than the average. Manufacturers are known to highlight the health benefits of air fryers, even labelling them 'health fryers'. And while some of those claims are exaggerated, air fryers can be a healthier way to cook food due to the small amount or no oil used in the air frying process.

When you're preparing food, it's important not to overfill your air fryer – it can lead to poor results such as undercooked or burned food. When you're making chips, it's better to only half-fill your air fryer to allow air to circulate better. We know this because in one of our air fryer cooking tests, we cook two batches of chips – one with the air fryer half-full and one at capacity. We find that the first batch is always better. 3. What can you cook in an air fryer?For general cleaning, unplug the air fryer and then use a microfibre cloth or soft sponge and wash all removable parts in warm soapy water. The main unit with the heating element should not be submerged in water, but you can still clean the outside of the air fryer with a damp cloth. Some manufactures claim air fryers can cook chips in just 15 minutes. But how long the chips take to cook depends on the capacity of the air fryer, the amount of food you're looking to cook and the quality of the appliance. Unlike deep-fat fryers, which use a large amount of oil to cook your food, air fryers rely on the intense circulation of hot air to produce crispy, perfectly cooked meals. When putting foil in an air fryer, make sure you don't cover any holes, fans or other heating elements and use only as much foil as you need to cover the basket or tray. You can also use baking paper. 8. How do you clean an air fryer?