This Swedish sticky chocolate cake is Sweden’s answer to the ultimate chocolate cake: dense, almost fudgy, with a thin, crisp crust on top, while the centre stays soft and sticky when you cut into it. It’s deliberately underbaked, and that’s exactly what makes it work. In the air fryer, you’re working in a small, enclosed space with strong heat circulation, and that’s an advantage here: the crust sets quickly, without the centre getting time to bake all the way through.
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The whole point is the short baking time. 18 minutes at 160 °C, followed by 20 minutes of cooling time, during which the cake finishes setting all on its own. Including prep, you’re done in 53 minutes, and you don’t need a stand mixer or any complicated techniques. A dusting of icing sugar, and it’s ready for the table.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Cake in the Air Fryer
This cake is small, which suits an air fryer perfectly. There’s no reason to heat up a large oven for just one tin, and the air fryer is ready almost instantly. The heat hits the tin closely from every side, so the edges set quickly while the centre stays soft.
The second advantage is control. The difference between a perfect cake and a dull, dry chocolate cake is just a few minutes. In the air fryer, you can pull out the basket and take a look without losing all the heat, the way you do when you swing an oven door wide open.
The Difference Between Air Fryer and Oven
An air fryer is really just a small convection oven with a short distance between the heating element and the cake. The heat is more intense, which is why we bake at 160 °C — lower than the temperature most oven recipes for this cake call for. The lower temperature gives the crust time to form without the centre setting. Turn up the heat, and you’ll get a cake that’s dark at the edges and baked all the way through in the middle, long before the timer goes off.
My Kitchen Test with This Cake
I baked the cake in my Cosori Dual Blaze, and 160 °C for 18 minutes is where it lands just right. After 15 minutes, the top still looked wet, and the temptation to give it a few more minutes was strong — that’s exactly where a cake like this gets ruined. At 18 minutes, the surface was matte and slightly cracked along the edge, while the centre still wobbled a little when I nudged the tin.
The cooling time isn’t optional. The 20 minutes on the counter is the part of the baking that happens without heat: the residual heat in the tin brings the centre to the right, sticky consistency. When I cut into it earlier, the centre spread out across the plate. All in all, you’re done in 53 minutes, and the cake does most of the work itself.
Trust the timer, not your eyes. A cake like this should look underbaked when it comes out of the basket — the rest happens during the cooling time.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
By far the most common mistake is baking the cake too long. This cake doesn’t look done when it is done, and if you give it extra minutes because the centre seems loose, you’ll end up with a completely ordinary, somewhat dry chocolate cake. Set the timer for 18 minutes, and take it out. The next mistake is cutting into it right away: without the 20 minutes of cooling time, the centre hasn’t set, and the cake falls apart on the plate. The third is whisking too much air into the eggs and sugar. This cake needs to be dense and fudgy, not airy, so stir the batter together by hand with a whisk until it’s just barely combined — and stop there.
How to Serve This Cake
This cake is best served warm, so shortly after the cooling time. Sift icing sugar over the top just before serving — do it too early, and the moist surface will soak it all up.
- Lightly whipped cream without sugar, so it stands up to the sweet cake
- Fresh raspberries or strawberries for acidity and freshness
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream that melts into the warm centre
- A light sprinkle of flaky salt if you want the chocolate to stand out more
- Black coffee on the side, the way the Swedes do for fika
Storage and Reheating
The cake keeps for two to three days at room temperature under a tea towel or loose foil. Avoid the fridge if you can: the cold makes the centre firm and fudgy rather than sticky. If it does need to be kept cold, take it out well before serving. If you want to warm it up, a few minutes at the same 160 °C in the air fryer will bring the soft consistency back to the centre — but keep an eye on it, since the cake keeps baking every time it gets heat.
This is one of those cakes where less work gives a better result. Keep the baking time short, respect the cooling time, and don’t dress it up with more than icing sugar and whipped cream. Do that, and you’ll hit the Swedish original every time.
FAQ
No, it’s underbaked on purpose. The cake is heated through at 160 °C for 18 minutes, but the short baking time means the centre doesn’t have time to set. That’s why it turns out soft and sticky instead of airy, which is exactly what characterises this type of cake.
The 20 minutes of cooling time is part of the cooking process. The residual heat in the tin brings the centre to the right consistency, and if you cut in too early, it will spread out instead of holding its shape. The cake is best served warm, not piping hot.
Yes, as long as the tin can stand freely in the basket with room for air to circulate all the way round. Line the base with baking paper so the cake releases easily, and choose a tin that doesn’t touch the sides of the basket.
Recipe
Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake 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 Springform pan - 18 cm, needs to stand freely in the basket
- 1 Bagepapir (til airfryer)
- 1 Lille gryde - For melting the butter
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Sigte - For the cocoa and icing sugar
Shopping list
Ingredients
How to make it
Preparation
- Melt 100 g butter in a small saucepan over low heat, and let it cool until just lukewarm.
- Line the base of an 18 cm springform tin with baking paper, and grease the sides. Check that the tin can stand freely in the air fryer basket with space for air all the way round.
- Whisk 2 pcs eggs and 170 g sugar together in a mixing bowl for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Stir in the lukewarm butter last, mixing only until the batter turns glossy. The batter should be thick and stretchy — that’s what gives the sticky centre.
- Pour the batter into the tin, and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 160 °C fan.
- Bake the cake for 18 minutes at 160 °C with the tin in the centre of the basket. Don’t open the basket for the first 12 minutes, so the surface has time to set.
- Check the cake after the 18 minutes: the surface should be dry and lightly crisp, while the centre still wobbles when you gently shake the tin. If you insert a toothpick 2 cm from the edge, it should come out with a little moist batter clinging to it. If it comes out clean, the cake has baked too long.
Serving
- Let the cake cool completely in the tin for at least 20 minutes. The centre sets as the cake cools, and only then can it be sliced without falling apart.
- Dust 1 tbsp icing sugar over the cooled cake through a sieve just before serving.
- Serve the cake in wedges with 125 g fresh raspberries on the side.
Our notes for the recipe
The short baking time is the whole point. The cake should be dry on top and soft in the middle, and it keeps cooking in the hot tin afterwards. Set the timer two minutes too short rather than two minutes too long — an overbaked cake is just a dry chocolate cake. Variation:
Stir 1 tsp instant coffee granules into the batter for a deeper chocolate flavour, or fold in 50 g of roughly chopped dark chocolate at the end for an even stickier texture. Serving:
Icing sugar and fresh raspberries are the classic choice. A dollop of lightly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream turns the cake into a proper dessert. Portion size:
The tin needs to stand freely in the basket so the air can circulate. If you have a small air fryer, use a 15 cm tin and shorten the baking time by 2-3 minutes.
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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