This is just the right cake for a couple or small family. The recipe makes a small, 6-inch cake that's loaded with sweet berries. The cake is quick to mix up, and you can use frozen mixed berries in the batter. I use self-rising flour in the cake, which seems to give the cake a lighter texture without resorting to cake flour. If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use regular flour and add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. The cake is light, not too sweet, and has a crunchy almond topping. It's wonderful warm from the air fryer with a scoop of ice cream alongside, and it's also good the next day served at room temperature (that's assuming you have any left). Enjoy!
Air Fryer Mixed Berry Cake -- Makes a Six-Inch Cake
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1/4 cup of sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of almond extract (optional but good)
1 large egg
1/2 cup of self-rising flour
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of frozen mixed berries (fresh are fine, too, just reduce the cooking time a little)
1/4 - 1/3 cup of coarsely chopped almonds
Spritz a 6-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl or measure whisk together well the butter, oil, 1/4 cup of sugar, extracts, and egg. Whisk in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk in the milk gradually and just until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the frozen berries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the chopped nuts and then sprinkle on 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your topping). Spritz the top of the almonds/sugar with a little cooking spray. Put the cake batter in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the cake at 320 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until almost but not quite done (it will be getting quite brown). Reduce the temperature to 300 degrees and air fry the cake for 10 minutes more or until a pick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter attached and the edges of the cake are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the air fryer and let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a plate, then flip it back, almond-side-up, onto another plate to serve. Or just serve the cake from the pan, warm, and with ice cream! Enjoy!
