Taste a slice of your favorite cake without even using your oven! But how?!
Your Instant Pot can help you enjoy fluffy baked goods even in summer when you don’t feel like staying in a hot and stuffy kitchen.
Just like the Instant Pot cheesecake, this cake has a really tender crumb and just the right amount of sweetness.
The best part – this simple yet delicious Instant Pot Vanilla Cake recipe has a short list of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge! So you can easily whip this cake together whenever the craving strikes.
Instant Pot sponge cake in only 30 minutes using super simple ingredients!
Table of Contents
Can I Make the Batter Using Only One Bowl?
Yes! I recommend following the instructions and using two bowls for the best results. However, if you want to save yourself from too many dishes, you can start with step #2—mixing the butter and sugar together, then adding vanilla and egg. Then add baking powder and mix to combine and then finally, incorporate the flour.
Can I Use Brown Sugar?
Yes, you can substitute the sugar with an equal amount of light or dark brown sugar. Using brown sugar will give a bit of a nutty, caramelized flavor and also make the cake a little darker in color.
The difference between sugar and brown sugar is simply the presence of molasses. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, so the difference will be even more noticeable with dark brown sugar.
Can I Use Self-Rising Flour?
Yes. Self-rising flour is just regular all-purpose flour with leavening agents already mixed in. It contains about 1.5 teaspoons baking powder for every cup of flour, plus a little salt. The small difference in proportion shouldn’t make a huge difference.
If you are using self-rising flour, you should omit the baking powder in this recipe.
Does it Matter What Size Cake Pan I Use?
Not really. Most instant pot models can accommodate pans no larger than 7 inches in diameter, and the majority of cake pans are at least 5.5-6 inches in diameter. The small difference in diameter shouldn’t make a difference for the cooking time here.
How Should I Serve it?
I actually love this cake just as is! It’s so simple, and yet so satisfying. Sometimes I’ll serve it alongside fresh fruit and whipped cream for a light summer dessert.
For a little something extra though, this cake can be topped with chocolate glaze or this delicious Instant Pot Lemon Curd. Perfect for special occasions!
More Instant Pot Dessert Recipes, Please!
If you liked this Instant Pot Vanilla Cake recipe, check out these dessert recipes, all made using your pressure cooker!
Instant Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Instant Pot Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup water for the Instant Pot
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix flour and baking powder.
- In another bowl, mix butter and sugar, then add the whisked egg and vanilla extract.
- Slowly add the flour mix to the second bowl while stirring constantly.
- Add milk the the mix and keep stirring.
- Grease a pan (that fit your Instant Pot) with some butter, and pour your mixture inside.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet.
- Cover the pan with foil and place it on the trivet.
- Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.
- When to cook time is complete, wait for a natural pressure release (or for at least 20 minutes).
- Open the lid, let the cake cool a little, and remove it from the pan.
- Serve and enjoy 🙂
Is the batter supposed to be more like cookie dough? Mine was super thick. Maybe I should have melted the butter?
Can I bake this in a regular oven? If so, what temp, how long? Delicious recipe!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! This recipe was developed for the Instant Pot, so I'm not sure how it would turn out in a regular oven.
I had the same result than Joanna when I tried this recipe. The second time I tried it, I even doubled the cooking time to 1 hour. The cake was still not done in the middle.
The water goes in the pot not in the batter.
Is there a mistake in the amount of flour to use? (1cup)
Mine would not get done, cooked it way longer than necessary and it was really mushy. Not even formed as well as a custard pie. I thought it seemed like a lot of liquid verses dry ingredients and was really runny but I followed the recipe anyway.
Sounds like you may have added the water to the cake. It looks like it should be for the pot only.
I wonder, did you add the one cup of water to the batter? Corrie, is the water to be added to the pot and not the batter?
How Much water do I put in the instant pot?
Has anyone tried baking these in ramekins instead of one round pan, and if so, how should the cook time be adjusted? I would like to try this as individual desert cups topped with fresh fruit and custard cream.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I hate running my oven in the summer because it fights with the A/C, so I use my IP even more during warm weather because I can put it on the back porch or in the garage. 🙂
So glad you like it Sinead 🙂
Can this be made in a bundt pan and would the cooking time be the same?
Can we use self raising flour instead of plain flour ? If yes , do we need to add baking powder in that?Also do we need to sauté water in instant pot before putting the cake pan or jus put water and trivet and put on high pressure ? Please advise ?
You can use same amount of self raising flour instead of plain flour without adding baking powder. There is no need to sauté water before putting the pan in Instant Pot.
Can I use a round cake pan ? And no need to cover the Cake pan with foil?
You can use a round cake pan that will fit in your instant pot. For best result, cover the pan with piece of foil.