Bolo de milho is the cake Brazilians bring out whenever there’s coffee in the pot – at the breakfast table, in the afternoon and when the neighbour drops by. It is a moist corn cake with a soft, lightly grainy crumb and a mild sweetness from the sweetcorn. When I bake bolo de milho in the air fryer, the whole batter is made in the blender: canned sweetcorn, eggs, milk, oil, sugar and fine cornmeal are blended into a thin, runny batter.
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The batter is baked in a ring tin that fits in the basket, and the result is a golden cake with a moist crumb – completely without wheat flour. It’s ideal when you want something home-baked for your coffee without firing up the big oven.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I love bolo de milho in the air fryer
Bolo de milho is one of those cakes that can hardly go wrong once you know the few tricks that make the difference. There’s no need to whisk egg whites stiff or cream butter and sugar until pale – the blender does the work, and the washing-up is limited to the blender jug and the tin. The sweetcorn adds moisture and a distinct corn flavour, while the fine cornmeal – called fubá in Brazil – is what gives the characteristic, lightly grainy crumb.
The air fryer is made for this cake: the small chamber heats up quickly, the hot air gives a beautiful golden surface, and you don’t have to heat up the whole kitchen for a single cake.
The hole in the ring tin makes the difference
A thin, runny batter like this needs heat from several sides. The hole in the ring tin lets the hot air reach the cake from the inside, so it bakes evenly all the way through without drying out at the edge. At the same time, the heating element sits close to the top of the cake, which is why I cover the cake loosely with aluminium foil after the first 15 minutes. Tuck the foil firmly around the rim of the tin so it can’t blow up against the heating element.
My kitchen test of bolo de milho
I’ve baked bolo de milho in my Philips XXL, where a ring tin of 18-20 cm fits nicely in the basket. The cake bakes at 160 °C for 30 minutes in total: first 15 minutes without foil, until the surface is golden brown, and then 15 minutes under aluminium foil, after turning the tin half a turn to get an even colour. The toothpick has the final word – if it comes out without sticky batter, the cake is done, otherwise it gets another 3-5 minutes. With 10 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooling in the tin, the whole thing takes 55 minutes from blender to coffee table.
I’ve also baked it in my Cosori Dual Blaze, which has one basket with heating elements both above and below. The heat from below gives a nice base, but I stick with the foil and the half turn of the tin, because the top browns quickly.
Stir in the baking powder at the very end, and blend it in with no more than 2-3 short pulses. Blend for too long and the cake loses its rise and turns heavy.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is using the wrong kind of flour. Cornstarch doesn’t give the right crumb, and coarse corn grits or polenta make the cake gritty, so use fine cornmeal. The second mistake is a top that gets too dark before the cake is baked through in the middle. So lay aluminium foil over it after the first 15 minutes, and fill the tin no more than two thirds full, as the cake rises. The third mistake is turning the cake out too early. It is fragile while it is warm, so let it cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. After that it releases much more easily.
How to serve bolo de milho
In Brazil, bolo de milho belongs on the breakfast table and with the afternoon coffee, and it tastes best warm or at room temperature. Here are my favourites:
- Cut into slices to go with a cup of strong coffee
- Dusted with a little cinnamon or icing sugar
- Warm with a knob of butter melting into the crumb
- With fresh pineapple or mango on the side
Storage and reheating
Bolo de milho keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months – ideally in slices, so you only take out what you need. Let the slices thaw at room temperature. If you want the cake warm again, you can warm it in the air fryer at 150 °C for 2-3 minutes.
Bolo de milho proves that the air fryer can do much more than chips. With a tin of sweetcorn, a blender and a ring tin that fits in the basket, you’re well on your way to a home-baked cake with a touch of Brazil – so go ahead and put the coffee on.
FAQ
No, use fine cornmeal. Polenta and coarse corn grits make the cake gritty, and cornstarch doesn’t give the soft, lightly grainy crumb that bolo de milho is known for either.
There is no wheat flour in the cake. If you are baking for someone with coeliac disease, choose cornmeal and baking powder that are labelled gluten-free.
If there isn’t room for an 18-20 cm ring tin in the basket, you can bake the batter in muffin moulds instead. Check them with a toothpick after about 15 minutes at 160 °C.
Recipe
Bolo de milho in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Blender
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Cake pan - ring tin with a hole in the middle, 18-20 cm
- 1 Pastry brush
- 1 Dough scraper
- Aluminum foil
- 1 Toothpick
- 1 Cooling rack
Shopping list
Ingredients
How to make it
Preparation
- Grease the cake tin thoroughly with 1 tbsp butter using a pastry brush – don’t forget the tube in the middle. Dust the tin with 1 tbsp cornmeal, tilt and turn it so the whole inside gets a thin coating, and tap out the excess.
- Blend 200 g sweetcorn (well drained in a sieve) with 2 pcs eggs, 150 ml milk, 75 ml rapeseed oil and 125 g sugar for 1-2 minutes, until the sweetcorn is completely broken down and the mixture is smooth.
- Finally, stir 2 tsp baking powder into the batter with a dough scraper, or blend it in with 2-3 short pulses. Don’t blend any longer than that, so the cake keeps its rise.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 160 °C fan.
- Pour the batter into the tin, and scrape the blender clean with the dough scraper. The tin should be no more than two thirds full, as the cake will rise. Place the tin in the basket.
- Bake the cake at 160 °C for 15 minutes, until the surface is golden brown.
- Cover the cake loosely with aluminium foil, and tuck the foil firmly around the rim of the tin so it can’t blow up against the heating element. Turn the tin half a turn so the cake browns evenly, and keep baking at 160 °C for another 15 minutes.
- Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the thickest part. If it comes out without any sticky batter, the cake is done. Otherwise, bake it for another 3-5 minutes at 160 °C.
Serving
- Let the cake cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. It is fragile while warm, and releases from the tin more easily once it has set.
- Turn the cake out onto the wire rack. Serve it warm or at room temperature, cut into slices – ideally with a cup of coffee.
Our notes for the recipe
Use fine cornmeal – not cornstarch and not coarse corn grits or polenta. The fine meal gives the soft, lightly grainy crumb that bolo de milho is known for. The hole in the ring tin lets the hot air reach the cake from the inside, so it bakes through without drying out at the edge. The heating element sits close to the top of the cake, so covering it with foil after 15 minutes is important – otherwise the top gets too dark before the cake is done in the middle. Gluten-free:
There is no wheat flour in the cake. If you are baking for someone with coeliac disease, choose cornmeal and baking powder that are labelled gluten-free. Variation:
Blend 25 g coconut flour into the batter, or stir in 1 tsp fennel seeds at the end – both are popular additions in Brazil. If you want whole sweetcorn kernels in the crumb, set aside 2 tbsp of the sweetcorn and stir it into the batter just before it goes into the tin. Serving:
In Brazil, bolo de milho is a fixture on the breakfast table and at afternoon coffee. Serve it warm or at room temperature, optionally dusted with a little cinnamon or icing sugar. Portion size:
The cake makes about 8 pieces (4 servings of 2 pieces each). If a ring tin of 18-20 cm doesn’t fit in your air fryer, you can bake the batter in muffin moulds instead – check them with a toothpick after about 15 minutes at 160 °C.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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