Air Fryer Recipe
Pancake bites
Pancake bites are a delicious and easy-to-make snack, perfect for air frying. These bite-sized delights are ideal for breakfast or a quick snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or blueberries (optional)
Method
- Preheat air fryer to 180°C (350°F).
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, blend buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Gradually mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips or blueberries if desired.
- Grease a mini muffin tin or line with silicone cups. Pour batter into each cup, filling about three-quarters full.
- Place muffin tin in air fryer basket and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow to cool slightly before removing from tin. Serve warm with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or fresh fruit.
Why this works in an air fryer
The small cups let air-fryer convection set the edges quickly while the buttermilk reacts with bicarbonate for lift. Melted butter tenderises the crumb, and stopping at “just combined” limits gluten so the bites stay soft rather than bready. Three-quarter filling leaves room for steam expansion without overflow.
Equipment notes
Assumes a 5–6 litre basket that can take a mini muffin tin or spaced silicone cups in one layer; in a single-drawer fryer, keep the tin central and rotate once if browning is uneven, while dual-zone models usually run slightly faster in the smaller drawer, so start checking at 7 minutes.
Common pitfalls
- Tops are golden but the centres look wet or collapse when pressed? The cups are overfilled or the tin is insulating the batter; fill nearer two-thirds next batch, lower to 170°C and add 2–4 minutes.
- Bites are chewy with long tunnels through the crumb? The batter has been overmixed and gluten has developed; stop as soon as no dry flour patches remain and fold additions in with only a few strokes.
- Sides and bases are pale and slightly tacky while the tops are cooked? Airflow is blocked by tightly packed cups or a heavy tin; leave gaps between silicone cups where possible and add 1–2 minutes after loosening them in the basket.
- Chocolate chips taste scorched or blueberries have burst and leaked heavily? They are sitting on the exposed surface near the fan heat; fold them through, push stray pieces just under the batter, or reduce the temperature by 10°C.
Variations & substitutions
- Swap buttermilk for 175ml plain yoghurt loosened with 60ml milk; the thicker batter cooks a little more slowly, so expect to add about 1 minute.
- Replace up to half the flour with wholemeal flour; it absorbs more liquid, so rest the batter for 5 minutes and add a splash of milk if it becomes scoopable rather than pourable.
- Use diced banana instead of chocolate chips or blueberries; the extra moisture makes the centres softer, so check with a skewer and add 1–2 minutes if needed.
- For a savoury version, omit sugar and vanilla, then fold in grated cheddar and chives; cheese browns quickly, so check early and lower to 170°C if the tops darken too fast.
Storage & reheating
Keep cooled pancake bites in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature or 4 days in the fridge, then reheat in the air fryer at 160°C for 2–3 minutes until warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
