Air Fryer
Air Fryer Banana Bread
A soft, moist loaf in 30 minutes. Why the top needs foil over it, and why the tin has to fit with room to spare.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 120g butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Check your loaf tin fits inside the air fryer basket with room around it. A 1lb tin suits most models.
- Mash the bananas with a fork until broken down but still lumpy.
- Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs until smooth.
- Fold in the self-raising flour, baking powder and cinnamon until it just comes together.
- Stir the mashed banana through, then pour into a greased loaf tin and level the top.
- Air fry at 160°C (320°F) for 30 minutes. If the top is browning faster than the middle is cooking, lay a piece of foil loosely over it.
- Test with a skewer into the centre. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Give it another 5 minutes if not.
Notes
- The foil tent is the air fryer part. A loaf is tall, which puts its top close to the element, so it browns long before the middle sets. Foil over the top solves it without changing anything else.
- The riper the bananas the better. Black and soft is ideal — underripe bananas give you almost no flavour and a drier loaf.
- Check your tin fits before you start mixing. A 1lb loaf tin is 8 x 4 inches and fits most baskets; a 2lb tin usually will not.
- Skewer into the centre, not the edge. The edges of a loaf set well before the middle does.
- 160°C (320°F) is lower than a normal oven banana bread recipe on purpose. The fan is much closer to the food.
- Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Watch it
More Air Fryer Desserts
Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.
Recipe source: Quantities and method from Liana's Kitchen (lianaskitchen.co.uk): 2 ripe bananas, 120g softened butter, 100g caster sugar, 200g self-raising flour, 2 medium eggs, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp ground cinnamon, baked at 160°C (320°F) for 30 minutes, covered with foil if the outside browns too fast. Corroborated against Supergolden Bakes and Air Fryer UK, who also bake at 160°C (320°F) for 30-35 minutes in a 1lb loaf tin and also tent with foil. All sources test with a skewer into the centre of the loaf.