Viral dot cake in the air fryer is the little cake you may already have seen on social media: a bowl with a perfectly flat top covered in tiny round sprinkles known as nonpareils, and underneath them two layers of light, airy pound cake with soft buttercream in between. The cake is also called a dot cup and was made famous by the Dotcakes bakery on Long Island, and once the spoon is on its way down through the layers, it’s easy to see why it has become so popular.
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You don’t need cake layers or a big oven. The cakes are baked in small ovenproof ramekins that fit in the basket, and you assemble them yourself with buttercream and a dense layer of nonpareils. That gives you four small individual cakes that everyone can eat straight from the ramekin with a spoon.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I love viral dot cake in the air fryer
I’m fond of cakes that look as if they come from a bakery but that you make with an electric whisk and an ordinary mixing bowl. The batter is a classic pound cake batter made with butter, sugar, eggs and flour, and the buttercream consists of butter, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and a little milk. It’s the assembly that makes the difference: two layers of cake, buttercream in between and a top where the nonpareils sit close together and perfectly flat.
The single-serving format is the other reason. Everyone gets their own little cake, nobody has to slice or divide anything, and the small ramekins look lovely on the table for a birthday or as a dessert when you have guests.
Why small ramekins suit the air fryer so well
The hot air circulates close to the cakes, so small cakes bake through quickly, and you don’t have to heat up a whole oven for four small ramekins. On the other hand, the surface browns easily, which is why I bake at 160 °C instead of a higher temperature. Leave a little space between the ramekins and rotate them half a turn partway through, so they bake evenly.
My kitchen test of viral dot cake
I tested the cakes in my Cosori Dual Blaze, which has a single basket with heating elements both above and below. At 160 °C, 18 minutes was spot on, with a half turn of the ramekins after 10 minutes, and the toothpick came out clean. If your toothpick doesn’t come out clean, give the cakes 2 more minutes at the same temperature. In my Philips XXL there’s room for all four ramekins at once, but in a smaller air fryer you can bake them in two batches.
Allow 78 minutes in total: 30 minutes of preparation, 18 minutes of baking and 30 minutes of cooling. Don’t skip the cooling. The cakes first need 5 minutes in the ramekins and then about 25 minutes on a cooling rack, otherwise they crumble under the knife and the buttercream melts.
When the buttercream reaches the rim of the ramekin, draw the palette knife across the rim. That makes the top completely flat, and the nonpareils settle in tightly.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is opening the basket too early. If it happens during the first 10 minutes, the cakes can collapse, so wait to rotate the ramekins until the 10 minutes are up. The second mistake is slicing the cakes in half while they’re still warm. Let them cool completely before you get the bread knife out, and you’ll get two neat layers with no crumbs in the buttercream. The third mistake is about the nonpareils: if they go in the batter, the colour runs, and if they just sit loosely on top, they fall off. So sprinkle them only onto the finished buttercream and press them gently into place with the flat side of the palette knife, so the top stays flat.
How to serve viral dot cake
Dot cake is served in the ramekin at room temperature, so the buttercream is soft, and it’s eaten with a spoon. These suggestions go well with it:
- Fresh raspberries on the side, which add a little acidity to the sweet buttercream
- A cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk
- Finely grated lemon zest in the batter if you want a fresher flavour
- Buttercream tinted with a little fruit-based food colouring so it contrasts with the nonpareils
Storage and reheating
If you have any cakes left over, cover them and put them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Take them out 20 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens again. Dot cake isn’t suitable for reheating, because the heat would melt the buttercream. If you want to keep a stock of cakes, they can be frozen without the topping for up to 2 months, and then you sprinkle the nonpareils on only once the cakes have thawed.
Dot cake looks harder to make than it is. With a palette knife, a little patience and a generous helping of nonpareils, you’ll end up with four small cakes that make everyone at the table reach for a spoon.
FAQ
A dot cake, also called a dot cup, is a small individual cake in a bowl with two layers of pound cake, buttercream in between and a flat top completely covered in tiny round nonpareils. It was made famous by the Dotcakes bakery on Long Island and has gone viral on social media.
Use 4 ovenproof ramekins of approx. 175 ml and 8 cm in diameter that fit in the basket. Grease them thoroughly and fill them no more than two thirds full. If your air fryer is smaller, you can bake the cakes in two batches.
Use nonpareils, which are small round sprinkles, and put them only on the top, never in the batter. If the cake has to be vegetarian, choose a type without carmine (E120) and shellac (E904).
Recipe
Dot Cake in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 4 Ramekins - Ovenproof, approx. 175 ml and 8 cm in diameter, that fit in the basket
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 1 Measuring spoons
- 2 Mixing bowl
- 1 Electric mixer
- 1 Sifter
- 1 Dough scraper
- 1 Pastry brush
- 1 Oven mitts
- 1 Toothpick
- 1 Cooling rack
- 1 Bread knife
- 1 Offset spatula
- 1 Deep plate
Shopping list
Ingredients
Buttercream
- 80 g butter (Softened)
- 140 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
Topping
- 80 g nonpareils (Small round sprinkles)
How to make it
Preparation
- Beat 90 g butter, 90 g sugar and 1 tsp vanilla sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric whisk for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Add 2 pcs eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg.
- Fold in the flour and 1 tbsp milk with a dough scraper until the batter has just come together. Don’t mix for longer than necessary, so the cake stays light and airy.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 4 ramekins and smooth the surface with the dough scraper. The ramekins should be no more than two thirds full.
Cooking in the air fryer
Buttercream
- Beat 80 g butter with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes, until it is pale and creamy.
- Sift 140 g icing sugar into the butter a little at a time, beating it in as you go.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla sugar and 1 tbsp milk and beat for 3-4 minutes, until the buttercream is light, fluffy and easy to spread.
Assembly and topping
- Wipe the ramekins clean and put the bottom layer of each cake back into its ramekin. Spread about half of the buttercream over the 4 bottom layers and place the top layers on.
- Spread the rest of the buttercream over the cakes in an even layer that reaches all the way to the edge. Smooth the surface with the palette knife so it is completely flat.
- Place a ramekin on a deep plate and sprinkle a quarter of the 80 g nonpareils over it until the buttercream is completely covered. Repeat with the other cakes.
- Press the nonpareils lightly into place with the flat side of the palette knife so the top stays flat. Gently tilt the ramekin so the loose nonpareils fall onto the plate, and use them to cover any gaps.
- Serve the cakes in the ramekins at room temperature, so the buttercream is soft, and eat them with a spoon.
Our notes for the recipe
Don’t open the basket during the first 10 minutes, so the cakes don’t collapse. Let them cool completely before you slice them in half, so they don’t crumble. When the buttercream reaches the rim of the ramekin, you can draw the palette knife across the rim so the top becomes completely flat. Nonpareils:
The nonpareils go on the top only, never in the batter, where the colour would run. Choose a type without carmine (E120) and shellac (E904) if you want the cake to be vegetarian. Variation:
Add finely grated lemon zest to the batter, or tint the buttercream with a little fruit-based food colouring so it contrasts with the nonpareils. Serving:
The recipe makes 4 small dot cakes, one in each ramekin. If they come straight from the fridge, let them stand out for 20 minutes before serving, so the buttercream softens again. Portion size:
If your air fryer is smaller, you can bake the cakes in two batches. About dot cake:
Dot cake, also called dot cup, was made famous by the Dotcakes bakery on Long Island, and the cake has gone viral on social media.
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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