The Secret For Bakery-Worthy Cakes That Works Better Than Parchment Paper

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Anyone who calls themselves an at-home baker knows the horror of crafting the perfect batter, only for the layers to stick to the pan and fall apart after baking — all of that hard work, immediately gone to waste. There are so many tricks to try and avoid this monumental disaster. Perhaps it involves buttering the pan, or adding a layer of parchment paper (or both!). But here's one innovative idea: Instead of cutting a circle of parchment paper that perfectly matches the size of your cake pan, opt for air fryer liners.

These liners come in different shapes and sizes, making it super easy to simply plop one in your pan before pouring in the cake batter. For example, if you're using a traditional round cake pan, you could place a 6-inch or 8-inch air fryer liner in the bottom of the pan. There are also square-shaped liners that could work perfectly for a square cake or in a brownie pan.  

So now that you've got liners handy, what should you make inside of them? Really any cake recipe would work well. For a simple cake with few ingredients, try our 3-ingredient vanilla cake, which incorporates melted vanilla ice cream into the batter. If you're feeling adventurous, you could even try to craft an air fryer cake or air fryer cupcakes — no oven required. 

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While cake batter might not be the first use-case you think of when it comes to air fryer liners, the reason they work comes down to the science of the nonstick paper. The majority of these liners are made from parchment paper, which is a heat-resistant material. You might have seen both brown and white varieties of the paper, the only difference being if the roll has been bleached or not. Parchment paper can withstand temperatures in the oven of up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, which is perfect for most cakes and why you should use parchment paper over aluminum foil.

Its qualities come down to its composition. Parchment paper starts being created just like paper: from wood pulp. Then, the paper undergoes treatment with an acid, either zinc chloride or sulfuric acid, which alters its chemical structure to make it both non-stick and resistant to greases. Finally, parchment paper is coated in silicone, which is the key step to ensuring the paper is heat-resistant. Silicone is stable at very high temperature and doesn't degrade easily, which means that you'll avoid any harmful chemicals leaching into your baked layers. Additionally, the brown, unbleached parchment paper is more environmentally-friendly.

One thing to keep in mind when opting for air fryer liners is their shape. Some of the options on the market have ridged edges or little holes in the bottom (for grease to drop through, when using in an air fryer).