Can Toaster Oven Bake Cake? – Learn Here

In short, the simple answer to the question: can toaster ovens bake cake is a resounding YES!

In fact, a toaster oven can be used for baking a myriad of confectioneries that you would otherwise bake in a regular oven including cakes.

Toaster ovens, like the traditional ovens, possess heating elements that enable food to cook evenly, provided the heat is adjusted to the right temperature.

General Tips

In order to properly and efficiently bake in a toaster oven, there are some general tips that you ought to know:

• Ensure that your baking pan fits into the toaster oven to avoid contact with the heat coils. Since toaster ovens are smaller, you have to make sure that the cake is at a proper distance from the heating elements.
• Due to the close proximity of the heating coils as well as the smaller space, baking cake in a toaster oven can be slightly different as compared to a traditional oven in terms of consistency, texture and cooking cycle.
• To get a good outcome, make sure you keep periodic/a timed watch of the food to allow uniformity.
• Be aware of the hot spots in your toaster oven so as to place your baking pans in the right area.

Pros and Cons of Baking Cakes in a Toaster Oven

Before making up your mind to purchase your own toaster oven especially if you love baking, it is important for you to note some of the upsides to baking in a toaster oven and the downsides.

Pros of Baking Cake in a Toaster Oven

1. Bakes Evenly

One of the perks of using a toaster oven, especially one that has convection feature, is that it improves uniformity.

If you crave a slice of cake now and then, all you need to do is mix your cake, place it in the appropriate rack of your toaster oven and Voila!

A perfectly baked delicious Sponge cake in a jiffy.

2. Bakes Faster

Toaster ovens are small and therefore they tend to bake faster than any conventional oven because there is far less space for hot air to circulate.

This attribute is beneficial when making a lot of perfectly made batches of cakes.

It is also great if you have a sudden desire to eat cake as quickly as possible.

3. Portability

A toaster oven occupies less space and this, perhaps, makes it the most useful appliance for smaller apartment buildings, offices, and student arrangements because it is a multipurpose machine that performs a lot of tasks including reheating and cooking.

Since it is small, you can carry it around anywhere you like and show off your baking skills.

4. Uses Less Energy

It’s more beneficial to bake in a toaster oven because it helps to cut costs by using less energy while baking.

Since it has smaller heating elements, they do not eat up a lot of power. As such, if you often make a cake for yourself or a small family, then the smaller size can actually be economical in the long run.

According to Energy Star Report, toaster ovens use 1/3-1/2 less energy as compared to conventional ovens.

5. Preheats faster

Baking requires the oven to preheat. Since toaster ovens are small, they take very little time to preheat.

This not only hastens the cooking time but also saves up on electricity bills.

Cons of Baking in a Toaster Oven

1. Bakes Faster – Double-Edged Sword

This quality can be both advantageous and a disadvantage.

This is because when food cooks faster than normal, one tends to spend more time checking on the food in order to prevent burning.

Although the more adept you grow at cooking in a toaster oven, the less frequently you will need to monitor your cooking.

2. Baking Size

Certain sizes of cake pans can’t fit into a toaster oven no matter how hard you try.

Therefore, if you have a smaller toaster oven, do not force your baking pans in it. Any sort of contact with the heating elements is a fire hazard.

3. Temperature and Time Modifications

It requires constant trying by error to get the perfect settings for each recipe.

Some recipes provide toaster oven temperature while some don’t but there are some self-created recipes in which one has to find a suited time and temperature.

Therefore, if you are trying out a different cake recipe, you will need to be careful with the settings and monitor constantly.

It can take up time and also be quite stressful to do.

4. Limited Rack Positions

Toaster ovens often have a single rack. A bit more expensive and larger toaster ovens can have two rack positions often very close to each other.

These limited racks layers, although suitable for some types of cooking, don’t give much room for choice or preference.

How To Prepare Cake in a Toaster Oven?

Now that you know that the answer to the question: can the toaster oven bake cake is a Yes, this must bring you to your next question:

How can you bake a cake in that small box?

Toaster ovens are miniature ovens that are said to be a cross between a regular oven and a toaster.

Here are some easy steps on how to prepare your cake, and how to bake your cake in a toaster oven:

Preparing Your Cake

This depends a lot upon the pan size that your toaster oven can accommodate.

Most modern toaster ovens can accommodate a 9-inch pan at least. Once you’ve got your pan, ensure that it fits. If it doesn’t fit, you can bake more than one layer to make a large cake.

When baking cake in a toaster oven, there are some tips to follow:

1. Preheat the toaster oven to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit for no less than 10 minutes.
2. (Optional Step) Put an oven thermometer and wait for about 5 min to recover from the heat loss. That is the real temperature.
3. Grease your pan and fill 2/3 of it with batter to make room for rising.
4. Place the pan into the oven and ensure that the door is properly closed to prevent heat loss.

Baking the Cake

1. When the pan is placed in the oven, set the temperature to the given temperature in your recipe.
2. Choose the “Bake” function and start your cooking cycle.
3. To get a perfect finish without burning, keep a vigilant watch on the cake from time to time.
4. If you did not use an oven thermometer in the step above, you will need to be extra careful. If you see any hint of burning or if the cake is browning too quickly, adjust the temperature.

Dos and Don’ts

Do’s

• Be aware of the use and care guide of your baking utensils.
• Know the hot spots in your toaster oven so as to avoid any burning in that area.
• Always monitor your cake to prevent it from being burned – which is also a fire hazard.
• Abide by your toaster oven instructional manual. In some manuals, there are specific temperatures, times, and even recipes for certain baked goods including cakes.
• Test your cakes with cake testers such as plastic forks or toothpick to ensure that it is well cooked inside. When your toothpick comes out clean, this means that the cake is well cooked and there is no raw batter inside.

Don’ts

• Don’t skip preheating. Ensure that you preheat your oven for at least 10 minutes before baking to promote even baking.
• Do not use parchment paper inside the oven. The guidelines for parchment papers expressly state “Not for use in a toaster oven”. Instead, grease your baking pan.
• Do not open the toaster oven door unless half the time has passed to prevent your cake from being deflated,
• Do not use the recipe temperature and time when making use of a convection toaster oven. They work differently and cook at slightly different temperatures. Therefore, you will need to adjust according to trial and error.
• Do not cover the top of your baking pan. Toaster ovens, especially convection toaster ovens, bring out heat by the use of a fan that circulates hot air. To give your pastries more room for evenness, try as much as possible to keep them exposed.

Baking in a Conventional Oven vs in a Toaster Oven

Cake baking is fun when you do it in an appliance that mirrors what you want and your cooking style.

Conventional ovens have been around for so long that they are synonymous with cooking appliances. However, in reality, toaster ovens are quite similar to traditional ovens.

Consider toaster ovens to be miniature regular ovens.

Toaster Oven and Normal Oven Comparisons

• They are both ovens and for this reason, they can both bake cakes –or broil should you wish.
• They can both be electric, so they consume energy and a significant amount at that.
• They both heat up the room one way or the other and therefore, carry risk and require proper ventilation.

Toaster Oven and Normal Oven Differences

• A toaster oven is smaller, quicker, and cooks evenly than a conventional oven
• A toaster oven takes less space and consumes less power than a conventional oven
• The conventional oven has rack flexibility and more room to cook or bake bigger portions of food than a toaster oven
• Toaster oven preheats faster thereby reducing the rate of rising in baked goods compared to conventional toaster oven
• Toaster ovens cost less than a conventional oven
• The conventional oven heats up the room in cold weather than a toaster oven.
• Conventional ovens have different powering choices compared to electric toaster ovens which only have one.

Final Words

The simplest answer to the question: can the toaster oven bake cake is yes. However, cooking in a toaster oven is slightly different as compared to a traditional oven.

While they both use heating elements for baking, the size difference and the baking time difference are worth noting.

Most cake baking recipes are intended for traditional ovens. Therefore, when emulating them on a toaster oven, make sure you constantly keep an eye when baking to avoid any dangers.