Can You Bake A Cake in a Toaster Oven? – Easy Step-by-Step Guide
Does your birthday fall during quarantine? Are you bored and you want to try something new? Do you miss the delicious cake from your favorite cafe?
If you answer “yes” to any one of these questions, then why not bake your own cake? It’s fun, it gives you something to do, and you get to enjoy it afterward.
But what if you only have a toaster oven? Can you bake a perfect cake in that?
Yes, you can!
Here, we’ll explain why it’s possible to bake a cake in a toaster oven and its benefits. We’ll also give you an easy step-by-step guide to using a toaster oven to bake a cake.
So let’s get straight to it!
Toaster Oven vs Conventional Oven – What’s The Main Difference?
To understand how a toaster oven can bake a perfect cake, you first need to compare it with a conventional oven.
There are a lot of differences you can spot. Toaster ovens are smaller, easier to install, cost less, and use less energy.
But what’s the main difference between the two? It’s in the way it heats up.
Conventional ovens have 1 or 2 heating systems at the bottom. Once it’s heated up, the hot air will rise to the top. This means that the bottom is always hotter than the top.
Toaster ovens, on the other hand, use a fanning system to heat it. This fan evenly distributes the heat around.
The evenly distributed heat is what makes it very possible for toaster ovens to bake a cake. In fact, this is what makes it an excellent cake baker.
Benefits to Baking a Cake in a Toaster Oven – Is It Better than Conventional Ovens?
Are we saying that it’s better to bake a cake in a toaster oven than a conventional one? It isn’t better, but it does come with a few good benefits.
For one thing, you don’t have to always check on it while it’s baking.
Usually, if you want to brown a cake on both sides, you need to rotate the cake pan every now and then. This means you’ll have to keep a close watch on it.
Also, you’ll want a cake that’s baked to perfection. Since the bottom is hotter, the underside of your cake might burn up while the top is perfect. You need to be mindful of that.
But if you use a toaster oven, you can leave it alone and it will still come out a perfectly baked cake. Why? Because the heat is even all around.
Another benefit of using toaster ovens is that it’s a lot faster to pre-heat. And this isn’t only because of its smaller size.
It’s also because the fan is very quick to circulate the heat, making it ready for baking in a few short minutes.
Finally, most oven toasters can reach the same temperature as a conventional oven.
To bake a cake, the estimated temperature is around 350°F. Toaster ovens today can reach up to 500°F.
There’s no reason why you can’t bake a cake in a toaster oven.
If this is the case, why do we feel more confident baking a cake in a conventional oven than a toaster oven?
This might be because most cake recipes you find are written for conventional ovens. Also, maybe because we see toaster ovens as a food heater only and not something that can cook, let alone, bake a cake.
Easy 5 Step Guide to Baking a Cake in a Toaster Oven
Before you pop your cake batter onto your toaster oven, there are 2 things to consider. The size and the recipe.
Since toaster ovens are much smaller, you need to make sure that the size of your cake pan fits inside. A 9in or 8in cake pan will work.
We said that most cake recipes are for bigger ovens. So if you use a toaster oven, you need to lessen the ingredients. You don’t want your cake rising and hitting the top of your toaster oven.
The ingredient ratios should be able to fit inside your cake pan.
Now that we got that out of the way. Here are the easy 5 step guide to baking a cake in a toaster oven.
1. Preheat
Turn on your toaster oven and preheat it to 350°F, or whatever temperature you need for the cake you’re baking. It’ll take around 5 minutes.
To make sure the temperature is exactly what you need, use an oven thermometer.
Wait 5 more minutes before placing the oven thermometer inside. Wait another 5 minutes for the toaster oven to recover from the lost heat. Once the last 5 minutes are up, you can remove the oven thermometer and check its reading.
If the reading doesn’t match the temperature you need, adjust the thermostat until it does.
2. Prepare the Cake Batter
While the toaster oven is preheating, you should prepare the cake batter.
Remember what we said about lessening the ingredients to fit the cake pan and toaster oven.
3. Insert the Cake Pan
When you insert the cake pan, make sure you shut the door quickly. You don’t want any of the heating escaping.
We’ll tell you why this is so important. It has to do with the size.
Since it’s so small, a little heat that escapes will lower the temperature right away. That’s not too much of a problem since the fan will circulate it back.
But if you open the door for a long time or regularly, it’ll be harder for the fan to keep up.
So remember to keep the door close as much as possible.
4. Test the Cake
When the time it takes to bake your cake runs out, you shouldn’t remove it right away. You first need to test it.
Get a toothpick and poke it through the center of the cake. It’s a perfectly baked cake when the toothpick comes out clean.
If there’s still some batter stuck in the toothpick, leave it in for a few short minutes. Do this until there’s no more batter in the toothpick.
If you don’t have a toothpick handy, you can tell it’s baked to perfection when it’s firm and springy. Or, when the edges are pulling away from the cake pan.
5. Remove the Cake from the Toaster Oven
When you see that it’s done, you can now remove it from the toaster oven.
From there you can either bake another layer for the cake, decorate the cake, or enjoy it as it is.
It’s that simple to bake a cake in a toaster oven.
Conclusion
So the answer is, yes, toaster ovens can certainly bake a cake. Not only that, it’s even simpler and more convenient than using a conventional oven.
So why not give it a go and enjoy great cakes while staying at home?
