Sep

17

Egg Substitutes

September 17, 2007 |

img_9695-copy.jpg

Eggs have two main functions in recipes, particularly in baking.

1. When whipped, they incorporate air and act as a leavening agent. They serve to make cakes and souffles airy and light.

2. They act as a binder to add moisture. On cooking, they thicken considerably, holding custards, casseroles and meringues together.

They are also used for glazing, drying, and sometimes to retard crystallisation.

As explained here:

The purpose the egg serves in the original recipe — as well as the amount of egg the recipe calls for — determines whether you need a substitute and, if so, which alternate ingredient will best serve the function of the egg in the recipe.

Flat foods such as pancakes and cookies don’t rely on eggs for lift. In fact, in many cases, you can eliminate the egg without noticeably affecting the final product. That’s especially true if the recipe calls for only one egg. If you do omit the egg, however, it’s a good idea to add a tablespoon or two of additional liquid — soymilk, fruit juice, or water, for example — for each egg omitted to restore the recipe to its original moisture content.

When a recipe calls for three or more eggs — as many cakes do — the eggs perform a vital function and need to be replaced with an ingredient that can deliver a similar effect.

Egg whites are virtually fat free, while the yolk contains about 5 grams of fat. (Nutrition facts about eggs HERE)

While eggs cannot be replaced in recipes where egg whites or yolks are the central ingredient (angel food cake, creme brulee or zabaglione), they can be replaced in most baking with a variety of other ingredients.

Some tips:

** One egg usually refers to one large egg, which is about 1/4 cup in volume. Therefore, replacing an egg in a recipe would require replacing about 1/4 cup of moisture in the recipe with something else.

** Silken tofu is a great egg substitute in cakes, muffins, etc. Make sure to blend it to a smooth puree. (Check out our egg-free Chocolate Rum Cake )

** To replace moisture in a recipe and lighten it, use any of the following, depending on the recipe.
Any of these totalling 1/4 cup equals substitution for one large egg.

2 tablespoons cornstarch / arrowroot powder or potato starch dissolved in water
mashed potatoes
mashed banana
canned or cooked and mashed pumpkin
pureed prunes
applesauce
1 tbsp. ground flax seed mixed with water
1 tbsp agar agar dissolved in water
tomato puree

Most commercial egg replacement powders have a combination of dextrose, potato starch and leavening agents.

** If a recipe calls for an egg for leavening purposes (to make it rise and become airy), along with any of the substitutions mentioned above, it helps to add 1/2 tsp baking powder per replaced egg.

** If the recipe calls for the whole egg (the yolk adds texture and richness), it also helps to add 2 tsps oil/butter per replaced egg.

Related posts

PRINT THIS POST PRINT THIS POST EMAIL THIS POST EMAIL THIS POST

, , , ,


SPEAK YOUR MIND

30 Comments so far

  1. Altoid on September 17, 2007 6:45 pm

    Very very very useful and informative post. This goes into del.icio.us for ever.

    Many thanks! :bow:

    -altoid

  2. sharmi on September 17, 2007 7:06 pm

    that is really informative. but tomato purees, pumpkins and potatoes can not be used in cakes right?

  3. roopa on September 17, 2007 9:47 pm

    thats a very informative post about egg replacement. gooto to try the silken tofu is this the smooth tofu which looks similar to our yogurt??

  4. Sreelu on September 17, 2007 9:58 pm

    Bee & Jai, thanks for the info, very informative

  5. Srivalli on September 17, 2007 10:23 pm

    Thanks a lot B & J…very informative post…will follow your tips and try out…nice of you to oblige.

  6. sra on September 17, 2007 10:26 pm

    That’s a really useful post, thanks.

  7. Rachna on September 17, 2007 11:29 pm

    Hi bee jay, great info there…I use malai/condensed milk in my eggless cakes… and beat them well to incorporate air into the batter… they give light and rich, yummy cakes… :)

    and then… how about agar-agar…instead of eggs in creme brulee, and puddings??

  8. zlamushka on September 18, 2007 12:11 am

    Hi girls,

    very interesting post. I dont eat eggs, so I always go for mashed bananas when cooking sweet or mashed potatoes when cooking savory. But you guys brought some real crazy ideas :bow:

  9. Anjali on September 18, 2007 12:42 am

    Thanks B and J that is a new learning for me. I use curd as substitute due to the albumin content though lower than an egg. It satisfies the criteria of an airtap and binder really well. Every egg replaced by 2 tablespoons of curd is how all my cakes are made. Also cakes made with oil are more moist than any other fat. Good work! :)

  10. Latha on September 18, 2007 12:45 am

    great post. Though we don’t eat eggs I always add them in bakes as I’m not that confident of making eggless ones (though I must admit I have attempted couple of them from blog world and had success). thanks B&J!

  11. Asha on September 18, 2007 5:22 am

    Arvind wanted to try Egg substitute once(Carton in the store) and we really didn’t like it.We love Eggs, so we don’t need any other anyway, but helps lot of pure vegetarians though.Great list!:))

  12. sandeepa on September 18, 2007 6:58 am

    Lovely tips, silken tofu as egg substitute…that is neat

  13. Anonymous on September 18, 2007 7:02 am

    Thanks a lot. This is really useful for people like me who don’t eat eggs.
    Though I have to be discreet, I am asking this. Do those substitutions work for every thing? I have tried using bananas and every thing I made seem to taste the same (like banana muffins) :(

  14. Suma Gandlur on September 18, 2007 7:04 am

    That anonymous was me. :)

  15. lakshmi on September 18, 2007 7:07 am

    havent really had much experience with eggless baking - but i do know from some recipes that some of substitutes used include milk powder, condensed milk, curd and cooking soda. from the above list, i am somehow not so hopeful about tomato puree.

  16. Manasi on September 18, 2007 9:58 am

    Very informative.. thank u so much!!

  17. musy on September 18, 2007 11:04 am

    Cool information! I would love to try silken tofu too! I mostly use dahi (not sour) as a substitute in eggless cakes!

  18. Siri on September 18, 2007 6:26 pm

    Nice informative post… :horn: thanks for all the tips and also for dropping by my blog… ;;)

  19. Jyothsna on September 18, 2007 11:57 pm

    You read my mind? Yesterday, I wanted to bake and was out of eggs. I had the first four replacers on hand but had no clue they’d work! Bookmarked this.

  20. Kanchana on September 19, 2007 6:33 am

    We use a lot of egg substitutes in my parents home as they don’t eat eggs. I even find things to taste too eggy after getting used to eggless cooking. Nice information, and great pictures!

    Kanch

  21. Padma on September 19, 2007 9:33 am

    Nice tips and Info for egg substitutes for pure vegans… :yes:

  22. shalini on September 19, 2007 5:24 pm

    What is the difference between white eggs and brown eggs? (like the kind in the photo)…they taste the same to me

  23. Shweta on September 20, 2007 11:26 am

    What a wonderful post!!! I just give up on baking as soon as I see eggs listed as ingredients. Looks like I am in for some baking experiments :) You guys rock!

  24. Anonymous on October 10, 2007 7:43 pm

    gr8 ideas.always left the recipes with egg.think i wont do that now.would love to visit ur site to gather such info .thank u

  25. sangni on October 10, 2007 7:45 pm

    :horn: :bow:

  26. Price on October 27, 2007 11:11 am

    Anjali mentioned using curd in cakes and I just tried this in a nut loaf recipe and I guess because of the albumen it had a great effect, very firm and really just like I had used egg.

    And curd is so easily available, just boil up some milk and then add lemon juice till it curdles and strain off the curd.

    Talking of which it makes an excellent replacement for scrambled eggs, just take the curd as it is, add salt pepper, maybe a little grated cheese or anything for taste (a pinch of turmeric even makes it nice and yellow just like eggs). Have this on hot buttered toast. Really yummy!

  27. sushma on March 7, 2008 1:42 pm

    Hiii Bee,
    Thanks a lot for these tips…am happy :dance: that finally can try my hand in cakes without eggs (my hubby just doesn’t like eggs)will try with these tips very soon.

  28. Madhuram on April 4, 2008 6:30 pm

    Thank you so much for this information. You have made the day for many of us who don’t want to use eggs while baking.

  29. How to make Eggless Brownies? » EgglessCooking.com » Eggless Recipes » Eggless Baking » Eggless Cooking on July 10, 2008 4:29 am

    […] I was searching in the net for egg substitutes and found this and this very informative. I decided to start experimenting with the various egg replacements and this is my […]

  30. Vindu » Totally crazy cake #1 (chocolate, coffee, rum and wine) on July 15, 2008 12:47 pm

    […] of rum and wine. I checked the refrigerator and saw that we had no eggs.*gasp* *gasp*  I did read here that applesauce can be used as a substitute for eggs. Then I got fancy… so here […]

Back to the BLOG.

Name

Email
(Not mandatory)

Website
(Not mandatory)


    Thank you for taking the time to visit our site, read our posts, and offer your feedback. While we may not be able to acknowledge and respond to all comments, we do read and appreciate each one. We will answer all questions to the best of our knowledge, however, if we do not respond to a question then most likely it has already been addressed in the post.

    We are grateful for your input. Hope you visit us again...and happy surfing.

    Jai and Bee.


Find older posts at ARCHIVE