If you have a toaster oven and want to know whether you can bake a cake in it, then this article might be most helpful to you.
When it comes to the precise temperature and timer to prepare a wide variety of foods, then a toaster oven is a ubiquitous kitchen appliance that has many uses including baking cakes, muffins, and bread.
But many of us are confused about whether we can use a toaster oven for baking a cake.
So, Can you actually bake in a toaster oven?
The answer will definitely be yes. You can use your toaster oven as a regular oven to bake your cake but the cake you want to bake should be small in size.
But compared to conventional oven baking, the temp and cooking time of baking in the toaster oven might vary.
However, you should be careful about the following reasons while baking a cake in your toaster oven.
- The height of the cake must not be closer to the coil
- You have to turn the cake at least once as the front of the toaster oven is not as hot as the back.
- Always try to bake a smaller cake in your toaster oven as there is a restriction in space.
How to Bake a Cake in a Toaster Oven
- Preheat Your Toaster Oven: The first step to bake a cake in a toaster oven is to preheat the toaster oven to 350-degree Fahrenheit. Then let the oven heat for up to 10 minutes and this is an important step that you shouldn’t skip.
If you want to bake a cake successfully then you must need a properly preheated toaster oven. To ensure the exact temperature, you may also use an oven thermometer to read the temp.
- Grease the Pan: When the toaster oven is preheating and in the meantime, you can prepare the cake batter. You should grease the pan with butter before you pour the cake into the pan.
- Prepare the Cake: Fill the pan with breadcrumbs, oatmeal, or batter and ensure a leaving room for rising.
- Insert the Pan into the Toaster Oven: In this step, insert the pan into the toaster oven and close the door of the oven quickly so that heat doesn’t escape.
- Observe the Batter: You should observe the batter every few minutes and when you see that the batter has risen then you should open the oven and turn the baked cake to 180° to ensure the even baking.
- Test the Cake: You should check the doneness of your baking cake with your toothpick or a cake tester. If your toothpick comes out clean then you have prepared a perfectly baked cake.
On the other hand, if your toothpick is stuck with some batter, then you should leave the cake for a few minutes until the toothpick comes out clean. The baking time can’t be told exactly as it depends on pan size and the heating power of a toaster oven.
- Remove the Pan: After ensuring your cake is complete, then take the pan out from the toaster oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan. Now, your baking cake is ready to eat.
Benefits of Baking a Cake in a Toaster Oven
- Can Bake Small Cake or Cookies: To turn on a big oven for baking a small cake is really troublesome. But you can easily bake a cake in your toaster oven without any hassle.
- Easy to Cleanup: The other benefit of baking cake in a toaster oven is that you have to clean up fewer spaces afterward.
- Instant Baking: Baking a cake in a toaster oven requires very little time and so if you’re a crazy lover of a baking cake then you must check the baking every few minutes otherwise it may start to burn anytime.
- Faster Preheating: Compared to the traditional oven, a toaster oven requires half of the time to preheat that’s a lot faster than the regular ovens.
Baking a Cake in a Toaster Oven – What You Should Know
1. Should Rotate the Pan
A toaster oven is comparatively smaller than the regular oven and its heating element might be closer to whatever you are baking. That’s why if you don’t keep your eye on your pan while baking, then normally it may burn.
So, for evenly baking you must rotate the pan every few minutes until the cake is completely baked. As toaster ovens are quite smaller than the size of regular ovens, you can’t use the pans of regular ovens to the toaster ovens.
Consequently, you have to use the right pans for your toaster oven and the standard pans are usually 8-inch in diameter fit perfectly for most toaster ovens.
2. Find the Standard Size Pans
As toaster ovens are quite smaller than the size of regular ovens, you can’t use the pans of regular ovens to the toaster ovens.
So, you have to use the right pans for your toaster oven and the standard pans are usually 8-inch in diameter fit perfectly for most of the toaster ovens.
3. Fill 2/3 of the Pan With Ingredients
When you fill the pan with the ingredients then ensure an empty space of the pan for rising. Because if there is no leaving room, then the ingredients may rise and touch the heating element. So, to avoid these troubles, you should fill 2/3 of the pan with ingredients.
4. Modify the Temperature Of the Recipe
To make any recipe you must follow some instructions and you should always try to set a lower temperature than the instructions say. Because all the toaster ovens are not equally designed and they have not equally heating capabilities.
So, to avoid the tendency to burn the cakes, you should set the temperature lower than the recipe suggests. If the recipe requires much temp, then you may increase the temp slowly. To check the exact temperature you must use a thermometer.
5. Use Parchment Paper or Butter on the Pan
If you want to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan, you must grease the pan with butter or use parchment paper on the pan before pouring the ingredients into the pan. Besides, you may use non-stick baking spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan..
Does the Size of a Toaster Oven Matter?
Yes, definitely the size of a toaster oven matters. You can bake a small size cake in a toaster oven but if you want to bake a big size cake in a toaster oven then it will be tough.
Because toaster ovens are typically smaller in size compared to the size of traditional ovens.
Besides you can’t use the pans of typical ovens to the toaster oven as the toaster oven requires standard size pans (normally 8 inches).
But some modern toaster ovens can fit 9-inch pans. However, you should choose the pan in accordance with the recipe you want to make.
For example, if your recipe requires much space to prepare then you must select the big-size pan and the traditional oven.
Read also, How to Use Electric Can Opener? Best 6 Steps in 2022!
Final Verdict
You can definitely use your toaster oven to bake a cake. Not only that, baking a cake in a toaster oven is more energy-efficient and requires less time compared to baking a cake in the traditional full-sized oven. But you should bake your cake following the instructions carefully to avoid sticking the cake to the pan or burning the cake.
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Hopefully, it will help kitchen gear that is capable of performing lots of cooking functions. Thank you!
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