RECIPES | Put your air fryer to the test with these three delicious dishes
The popularity of the air fryer has resulted in a flurry of new South African recipe books to feed the demand for ideas. Hilary Biller put the latest to the test

I didn’t expect to fall in love with an air fryer. Now it’s one appliance I can’t live without.
Why? Because it's nifty, quick, produces excellent results with a fraction of the oil and is fairly painless to clean. In catching up with the huge demand for the tabletop/ countertop convection oven — it's the overall bestselling item on South Africa's largest online retailer — we seeing a flurry of local recipe books hit the market, offering inspiring ideas that take the air fryer beyond the crispiest, moreish chicken wings it does so well.
Capetonian foodie Louisa Holst recently published The South African Air Fryer Cookbook and I put a trio of her ideas to the test.
1. CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PEPPERMINT CRISP CAKE
Everyone will love this rich, dark chocolate cake topped with caramel and Peppermint Crisp. You can make half the quantity if you need a smaller, single-layer cake.
Hilary Biller: I've never baked a cake in the air fryer so the combo of chocolate and Peppermint Crisp beckoned. Rich, dark and chocolatey, it's simple to put together and the air fryer makes a moist rendition of this winning combo. My only niggle was having to bake each layer for about 30 minutes - costly on electricity when you could bake both layers in the oven at the same time. I didn't have self-raising flour so used the same amount of standard cake flour, adding 7.5ml (1 ½ tsp) baking powder. Nor did I have the can of caramel so I used some leftover cream cheese icing to finish off the cake, adding a sprinkling of Peppermint Crisp. Delicious.
Makes: 2 x 15cm round cakes
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Air-fryer temperature: 160°C
Cooking time: about 35 minutes per layer
Ingredients:
80g (240ml) cocoa powder
2ml bicarbonate of soda
4 large eggs
370g (420ml) brown sugar
180ml sunflower oil
200g (370ml) self-raising flour
360g can caramel treat
1 Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar, crushed
Method:
- Put the cocoa powder into a bowl and add 200ml boiling water. Stir until smooth. Add the bicarbonate of soda and stir well. Set aside to cool.
- Beat the eggs, sugar and oil together and then stir in the flour and the cocoa mixture.
- Grease and base line two 15cm round cake tins. Divide the batter equally between the tins. You can also use two 15cm x 20cm rectangular aluminium containers if you would like a tray bake. provided they fit into the air fryer.
- Preheat the air fryer to 160°C. Place one tin into the basket and cook for 30-35 minutes. To test, a skewer inserted should come out clean.
- Remove from the air fryer and cool on a baking rack. Cook the remaining batter and then cool.
- Once the cakes are cool, trim the tops so they are flatter. Sandwich together with caramel. Top with the remaining caramel and sprinkle with crushed Peppermint Crisp. Store in an airtight container.
2. BOEREWORS BURGERS
Give your burger patties a surprise flavour boost by adding boerewors to the mince.
Hilary Biller: I'd never thought of using boerewors to make a burger, so I thought I'd give it a try. I combined boerewors mince with beef mince and together they created a juicy burger that came with the aroma of coriander — and was quick to prepare. Be careful not to overcook the burgers as they can be fairly solid. I checked them at 8 minutes, which was perfect for our taste, and rested them for a couple of minutes before eating.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Air -fryer temperature: 180°C
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Ingredients:
300g boerewors
300g beef or pork mince
30ml chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
20ml (4 tsp) canola oil
40ml mayonnaise
5ml (1 tsp) Tabasco sauce
30ml (2 tbsp) tomato sauce
30ml (2 tbsp) chutney
4 hamburger buns
Toppings of your choice (sliced tomato, lettuce, bacon, sliced cheese, sliced onion) to serve
Method:
- Squeeze the boerewors meat out of the sausage casing and into a bowl. Add the mince and parsley and combine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Shape into 4 patties and brush with the oil.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180°C. Place the patties in the basket and cook for 10-12 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time.
- Mix the mayonnaise, Tabasco, tomato sauce and chutney together. Spread onto the buns. Top with the burger patties and the toppings of your choice.
3. CHUTNEY CHICKEN WITH COUSCOUS
An old favourite that can be easily cooked in an air fryer. Serve with colourful peppers and couscous.
Hilary Biller: Although tasty, I found this recipe clumsy. Baking it in the oven would have been simpler by combining all ingredients together as I would if repeated in the air fryer. In Holst's recipe, the first step of browning the onion and peppers, which are set aside, are only added at the end when they are cold.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Air-fryer temperature: 180°C
Cooking time: about 45 minutes
Ingredients:
30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red onion, halved and sliced lengthways
6-8 chicken thighs or mix of legs and thighs
45ml (3 tbsp) cornflour
125ml (½ cup) fruit chutney
125ml (½ cup) mayonnaise
15ml (1 tbsp) white wine vinegar
10ml (2 tsp) Dijon mustard
10ml (2 tsp) soy sauce
250ml prepared chicken stock
250ml (1 cup) couscous (regular or pearl)
50ml fresh chopped parsley or coriander
Method:
- Preheat the air fryer to 180°C. Drizzle half the oil over the peppers and onion and then place into the basket. Cook for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through the cooking time. Once cooked, remove from the air fryer and set aside.
- Drizzle the remaining oil over the chicken pieces. Rub to coat and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with cornflour so the pieces are all coated.
- Place the pieces into the basket and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the pieces over halfway through the cooking time.
- Meanwhile, mix the chutney, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and soy sauce together in a bowl. Remove the chicken pieces from the air fryer and toss in the mixture to coat.
- Place a baking paper lining into the air fryer basket if you prefer, or place the chicken pieces directly into the basket. Cook for 15-20 minutes at 180°C, turning the pieces over and spooning over any leftover chutney sauce halfway through the cooking time. To check if the chicken is done, the juices should run clear when the meat is cut open.
- Pour the hot stock over the couscous and cover with a lid. Leave to soak. Once you are ready to serve, stir in the cooked peppers, onion and herbs. Serve with the chicken.
• The South African Air Fryer Cookbook by Louisa Holst is published by Human & Rousseau and retails at R320.
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