Toaster ovens have become a popular appliance over the years. They don’t take up a lot of space, use less power than a regular oven, and often come with additional features, like convection cooking.
While you may have purchased your toaster oven to toast the obvious baked goods like bread and bagels, melt cheese, and warm-up food, you may be wondering how else you can put this small appliance to work. Specifically: Can you bake a cake in a toaster oven?
The short answer is yes! You can absolutely bake a cake in your toaster oven. These appliances truly function like miniature ovens, and anything you might bake in your regular oven, you can bake in your toaster oven.
However, there are a few things to consider when baking in a toaster oven versus a standard oven. Keep reading to learn more!
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What Size Of Cake Do You Want To Make?
Unlike with a standard oven, the size of your toaster oven will dictate the size of the cake you are able to bake in it. (For instance, some folks think that the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven is a wee bit on the smaller side.) When deciding to bake a cake in your toaster oven, be sure to think about the following before you begin:
- The height of your cake. Nothing would be worse than putting your pan of cake batter in your toaster oven, only to discover that it rose higher than the interior of the oven would allow. Not only would your cake be burned, but you would also have quite the mess to clean. Take into account how high your cake might rise and make sure it won’t touch or be anywhere near the coils of your toaster oven.
- The size of your pan. Cooking smaller cakes in a toaster oven will help ensure that your cake cooks evenly all the way through. Make sure your cake pan has adequate room on all sides for even baking.
What Size Of Cake Pan Is Best For Your Toaster Oven?
As mentioned, the size of your toaster oven will determine the size of the cakes that you can bake in it. So what size pans are best for making small cakes that will fit easily into most toaster ovens and yield the best results?
We find that many modern toaster ovens can fit 9-inch pans inside with ease. Nine-inch pans are a fairly standard cake pan size that most bakers already have on hand. So you may not need to purchase any additional bakeware at all!
However, you might have a smaller toaster oven, in which case we recommend trying an eight-inch pan instead. To accommodate for the smaller size pan, and ensure even baking, you may want to divide your batter into two eight-inch pans and bake each small cake separately.
Rather than making a cake at all, you may want to opt for making cupcakes or muffins instead. You can easily fit a standard muffin pan in most toaster ovens.
At the end of the day, a toaster oven is a great option for baking smaller cakes, muffins, or small batches of other baked goods. Just remember to check that you have pans that fit well in your toaster oven before you begin to bake.
Does Your Toaster Oven Bake Evenly?
All home bakers know that an even oven temperature is important when baking cakes. Most toaster ovens have hot spots, or parts of the oven that cook at a higher temperature than others.
Typically, the front of your toaster oven isn’t as hot as the back. Therefore, you likely need to turn your cake at least once while baking, to make sure that you achieve an even bake.
Testing your toaster oven for hot spots is crucial to baking a cake evenly. You will be able to see where the hottest parts of your oven are, and better understand when and where to turn your cake.
We’re explaining how to check your oven for hot spots below.
How to check your toaster oven for hot spots before you bake a cake:
Toaster oven models vary in size and power, and may not all bake evenly. If you’ve noticed that your toaster oven doesn’t cook evenly, you may want to check for hotspots in your oven by following these steps.
- Set the temperature of the toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Leave your oven to heat up for around 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, put an oven thermometer on the rack and wait around 5 minutes for the oven to come back up to temperature.
- After 5 minutes, you will know the real temperature of your toaster oven.
- Fill the pan of your toaster oven with a thin layer of either bread crumbs or oatmeal.
- Keep an eye on the breadcrumbs or oatmeal as they toast.
- If your toaster oven has significant hot spots, then you will notice some areas will brown much quicker than others.
Now that you’ve checked your toaster oven for hotspots, you can be aware of these areas when you are baking your cake; you will know which areas of your cake will cook and brown much quicker than others, and where to position the pan when you turn it midway through baking.
Can You Bake A Cake In A Toaster Oven? Try This Way!
Before you begin baking a cake in your toaster oven, you should always check the recipe that you are using, and adjust it to suit your oven and choice of pan.
For instance, if you are using less cake batter in a smaller pan than the recipe recommends, you may want to reduce the baking time. If you know that your toaster oven cooks hotter than the chosen temperature (see How to Check Your Toaster Oven for Hotspots above), adjust it accordingly.
Once you’re ready, follow this method for baking your cake in a toaster oven:
- Preheat your toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for at least 10 minutes.
- Line your tin/pan with parchment paper, or you can grease it with butter and flour instead.
- Fill your pan or tin with the cake batter. You should fill it to about ⅔ full.
- Open the toaster oven door and put your pan inside the oven. Try to close the toaster oven door as soon as possible. You want to try and avoid losing too much heat.
- Halfway through, you may need to turn your cake around, to avoid uneven baking.
- Try to keep an eye on your cake; it may take longer to bake than in a traditional oven.
- Use a cake thermometer to determine whether the cake is cooked or not.
- Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool down.
Final Thoughts
Can you bake a cake in a toaster oven? Yes, you can! You can cook and bake pretty much anything in your toaster oven that you would cook in your regular oven. Although toaster ovens are commonly used to bake cupcakes, as they cook really quickly, a toaster oven is also a great option for making small cakes. Just make sure you use an appropriately sized pan, and are aware of any hot spots in your toaster oven that could affect the quality of your cake.
Try one of these toaster oven cake recipes to get started:
With the methods we have given you above, you should be able to make a cake in your toaster oven in no time.
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