There are a variety of reasons to bake cakes without eggs. Some people are allergic to eggs. Others want to eat vegan. Sometimes you need a delicious baked good quickly when there is a shortage of eggs in the fridge.
If you know how, it's no problem at all to avoid eggs when baking cakes . The easiest way is to use a type of dough that doesn't contain chicken eggs in the first place. You are much more flexible with egg substitute variants that go well with any dough.
From lemon cake and chocolate cake to apple cake and carrot cake to opulent birthday cakes and cakes : with the right egg substitute for cakes, you are guaranteed to succeed in every recipe.
Chicken eggs have this function when baking
Chicken eggs are one of the typical basic ingredients in baking recipes. The egg yolk contains lecithin . As a natural binding agent , this ensures that a smooth dough is created from flour, sugar and other ingredients.
Egg whites beaten into snow make the dough light and airy. Eggs also give the pastry the right consistency and a crispy crust.
What is suitable as an egg substitute? 12 tips
If you want to bake cakes without eggs , you have various options. When choosing the right substitute, you should look at what function the chicken egg fulfills in the respective dough .
Sometimes you can avoid substitute products, for example by increasing the fat or milk content.
But there are also cake batters for which replacing the chicken eggs is not recommended. These include the sponge cake dough, which relies on its high proportion of eggs .
Below we will give you an overview of suitable egg substitutes for the most common types of dough :
Yeast dough
In yeast baked goods, the most important thing is the suppleness of the dough. This ensures that the surface of the baked goods does not crack during the fermentation process.
If you want to bake yeast dough without eggs , you can quickly and easily adapt the recipe by adding a slightly higher fat and milk content. A simple rule of thumb is : around 20 g more fat and 30 ml more liquid per chicken egg.
It is important to pay attention to how your yeast dough behaves. It's better to start with a little less fat and milk. Then slowly add more if your ingredients don't combine or the dough is very stiff.
shortcrust
You can easily make many shortcrust and kneading doughs without eggs. The chicken egg provides elasticity and ensures good kneadability. The same thing can usually be achieved with a little more butter or margarine. You need around 50 g of butter or margarine additionally per chicken egg.
Biscuit Dough
As already mentioned, real sponge cakes only work with eggs . This is because each alternative only reflects some of the properties of chicken eggs, but never all of them at the same time. However, there is a recipe using mineral water that will give you a sponge cake-like result.
You need :
- 225 g flour,
- 150 g sugar,
- 250 g sparkling mineral water,
- 50 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil,
- 1 teaspoon baking powder,
- 8 g vanilla sugar as well
- 1 cake tin with a diameter of 22 cm.
First mix the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the mineral water and oil and stir both in briefly. Grease the baking pan and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs so that nothing sticks later. Add the dough and bake it at 180 °C on a medium level for about 30 minutes in a fan oven.
meringue
Protein masses can also be made completely without chicken eggs . Chickpea water is best for this. This contains a lot of vegetable protein and can be easily whipped like normal egg whites.
Sponge dough
Replacing batter is particularly easy. On the one hand, you can use ready-made replacement products . On the other hand, various plant-based foods are suitable, some of which you probably have in the house anyway.
We have listed the best options for you here :
Apple and banana puree
Since apples and bananas have a lot of moisture, your baked goods will be particularly juicy . However, this usually makes the dough a little more compact.
That's why you also need a loosening agent such as baking powder or yeast, if this is not already present in your cake recipe. You can replace a chicken egg with half a mashed banana or 60 g of applesauce.
Both types of fruit have a noticeable taste of their own. Which puree is best for your baked goods depends on what goes well with the other ingredients and tastes better to you. There is hardly any difference in consistency after baking.
linseed
Flaxseed gives your cake dough enough binding. Since the seeds absorb a lot of liquid, the dough tends to be a little firmer. Ground or cracked linseed is an ideal substitute for chicken eggs .
You can also buy whole seeds and grind them yourself. Then you let them soak in water. This creates a kind of gel that ensures that the cake dough binds. To replace an egg vegan and bake, mix one tablespoon of flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. The soaking time should be around five minutes.
If you bake a cake that is normally very light, the linseeds give it a little more color. However, they are not noticeable at all in dark pastries such as nut cakes. The taste of the seeds is also barely noticeable.
Soy and locust bean gum
Both alternatives are water-soluble and can be used as binding agents in baking. To do this, mix one tablespoon of the flour with two tablespoons of water and add the mixture to the dough.
If you want a tasteless version , you can also use conventional starch flour.
Silken tofu
Silken tofu is ideal for moist types of cakes. It has a creamy consistency and sets like a normal egg. This makes it ideal for cheesecakes too. To replace a chicken egg, you need about 60 grams of pureed tofu.
Baking powder and baking soda
To make your baked goods nice and fluffy, you can use a little more baking powder or baking soda instead of the ice. Both means ensure that the dough rises optimally .
Nut and almond butter
Butter made from nuts is full of healthy fats and is an excellent substitute for chicken eggs. But make sure to use creamy versions so that the nut butter is optimally distributed throughout the dough.
About three tablespoons replace one chicken egg. However, you should also take your own taste into account here. For example, almond butter is more tasteless than peanut butter.
turmeric
If the chicken egg listed in the recipe is only used as a coloring agent, you can add a pinch of turmeric to the dough instead. The secondary plant substance curcumin it contains has a very high coloring power .
This means you need so little of this egg yolk substitute that you won't be able to taste the spice in the finished pastry .
Vinegar
Although it sounds unlikely at first , you can easily replace a certain number of eggs with light vinegar, such as wine or apple cider vinegar. You need one to two tablespoons of vinegar per chicken egg. You won't actually be able to taste or smell it later.
Ready-made egg substitutes
Most substitutes are substitute powders made from corn starch or lupine flour. These take on both the emulsifying function of the egg yolk and the loosening function of the egg white .
Using egg substitutes is incredibly easy : All you need to do is mix it with a little water and mix it into the dough. You can find the exact dosage in the respective packaging.
Due to its neutral taste , the ready-to-use substitute can be used flexibly . It is particularly suitable if you want to replace whole chicken eggs . Some of the packaging also contains special dosage instructions for use only as a protein or egg yolk substitute .
Since the finished egg substitute binds more liquid from the dough, it sometimes makes the baked goods a little drier. It is therefore advisable to slightly increase the amount of liquid specified in the original recipe.
Egg substitute cake: conclusion
As you can see, you can easily enjoy fine pastries without eggs . With the alternatives mentioned you can also get a dough that is juicy, light or fluffy.
Whether you suffer from an egg allergy, want to lose weight vegan or are concerned about animal welfare and climate protection : you don't have to miss out on delicious baked goods.
When it comes to the topic of the best vegan cake , Greenforce is at your side . With our vegan baking mixes you can easily bake and delight yourself and your guests.
Are you looking for an equivalent to cow's milk? Then our milk substitute products are the right choice. You will also find many other vegan products such as meat alternatives and fish substitutes , vegetable breadings and vegan spreads .
