This is my fourth in the series of Baking Basics. I hope you are finding useful of all the Baking Basics posts. In the last post I was talking about the substitutes of various ingredients used in baking. And I left out eggs in the post. The reason is very simple. Egg substitutes need a whole post and cannot be explained in a single line. In the past four years of blogging, I have used various egg substitutes. Some were great success stories whereas some were great blunders. There are so many reasons why you need to avoid eggs in a recipe. It may be due to diet restrictions or due to religious beliefs, This post will help you in avoiding eggs in baking.
In this post I will give you the egg substitutes which has worked well for me. There are so many posts on egg substitutes in the virtual world but all the substitutes doesn’t work the same in all bakes. Each and every dish is unique and you need to figure out the egg’s function in each bake and select the perfect substitute. First let us note down all the substitutes and then I will be giving which substitute works best in which dish.
There are mainly three functions of egg. It provides structure, it acts as a foaming agent and traps air and it works as an emulsifier. Though it is very tough to exactly find a substitute do the same work of an egg, we can combine one or two substitutes to almost get the effect. 
Egg Substitutes in General:
For one egg:
1/4 cup of curd
1/4 cup of apple puree
1/4 cup of mashed banana
1/4 cup of buttermilk
1 tbs flax meal mixed with 3 tbs of warm water
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup tofu ground with 2 tbs of milk
1/4 cup of paneer ground with 2 tbs of milk
1/4 cup Mashed Potato
2 tbs corn flour + 2 tbs water
2 tbs of flax gel
Now let us discuss the substitutes in detail.
Curd:
I use curd as egg substitute in most of my cakes. The texture of the cake turns out great with curd.
Brownies also turn great with curd.
Adding a pinch of baking soda to 1/4 cup of curd creates a bubbling mixture and it can be used in breads and rolls.
You can use it in any soft and chewy textured cookies.
If the dish has to be soft textured, then you can use curd in the recipe as an egg replacer.
Apple Puree / Mashed Banana:
Fruit purees work great in fruit based muffins and cupcakes.
If the cake is fruit flavoured, then this can be a great addition to the recipe.
I don’t add mashed banana in a chocolate cake as the banana flavour will suppress the chocolate flavour.
Buttermilk:
Any cake which needs to be moist can use buttermilk as the egg substitute.
Brownies turn out super moist with buttermilk.
Muffins and scones turn great with the addition of buttermilk.
Flax Meal:
Can be used for cookies with nutty texture.
You can also use it in spicy nutty cakes.
Using it in a plain vanilla cake may be a disaster as you will have speckles of the flax meal all over the cake and the texture would also be coarse.
Flax Gel:(click to know how to make flax gel)
The drawbacks of flax meal is not there in flax gel. This doesn’t affect the flavour of the bakes. You can use is in cakes. As the flax gel acts as the binding agent, you need to add 1/4 cup of lour extra in a recipe for the structure.
Milk:
This just acts as binding agent and is perfect to bake crispy cookies.
This can also be used in pancake batters, pastry dough, homemade pasta instead of eggs.
Paneer or Tofu:
This gives great texture and so can be used in Quiche, cheese cakes, cakes and tart fillings.
Mashed Potato:
This also gives nice structure and so can be used in cakes, breads for a soft and firm texture.
Corn Flour:
This gives a nice smooth and silky finish and so can be used in creme brulee, custards, ice creams and puddings.
I have tried hundreds and hundreds of recipes with the above said substitutes in the past four years. Give these a try and share your results.
A Collection of all my eggless bakes
My other posts in the Baking Basics Series:
- Oven
- Tools
- Homemade Pan Release
- Ingredient Substitutes
- Eggless Baking
- Flax Gel
- Dark Chocolate Ganache
- American Butter Cream
- Homemade Veg Fondant- Gelatin Free
- How to do Frozen Butter Cream Transfer / FBCT
- Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Thx a lot Gayathri. It’s true that the virtual world has loads of substitution articles, but nobody as yet has ever explained the effect of these egg-subs on the product, as u’ve done. Thx for sharing ur baking notes & making vegan-baking easier for us.
very helpful post Gayathri!! keep it up…
Great article! It’s always good to know all the options we have when cooking/baking without eggs. Sharing the article!
Thanks so much. Just a quick query…what will work best in brownies for an egg substitute?
Thanks a ton.
priyanka
Sorry I somehow left out brownies. Added it now. Curd and buttermilk works great as egg replacers in brownie recipes..
Hello
Thanks for sharing this very important part.
Please let me know which receipes can be done using potatoes? I would like to try.
Thanks again.
All the very best, keep posting as it’s very much helpful.
Hi Shreya, here is a cake recipe I tried with mashed potato https://gayathriscookspot.com/2011/12/eggless-christmas-fruit-cake/
The recipe is just superb. But will curd work and taste the same way as it does when we use eggs? plz tell me coz I have never prepared the dishes without eggs and I am looking forward to prepare according to your recipe as it will be convenient for some of my family members….
For me I prefer cakes without eggs. You need to try it once to know the difference..
Hiii,,
I finally prepared the cake without using a single egg and it turned awesome. It made the work so easy and convenient to eat for many family members of mine. Thank u again for the recipe.
Can almond meal be used as egg substitute? If yes, pls let me know how to use it. Thanks in advance.
Veena, almond meal can be used instead of flour but not instead of eggs.
Hi,
Could you suggest an alternative for egg replacer… checked your lemon chiffon cake recipe and need an alternative for egg replacer…
Thanks.
Also would like to tell you that i tried your eggless brownies and they turned out really well.
Bindi.
I sought for the egg replacer after so many attempts at using various egg substitutes. So I have no idea.
Does this mean that the egg replacer is better than all these substitutes you have mentioned in this post?
Each substitute works differently. Egg replacer works in most recipes. But it will be your personal choice at the end..
Can i powder normal sugar and use it as icing sugar for butter cream frosting
No, the butter cream will not be smooth.
Hello Gayathri
Today first time I came across your blog while searching for an eggless blackforest cake recipe. First thing I bowed to Sai Ram and felt very nice seeing Sai Baba. Your post on egg substitute is simply superb, have no enough words. I am feeling I am going to say Thank u Sai Baba daily to find me your Cook Spot.
Dear Gayatri ji,
visit your site first time its a whole world itself. just wow
i have one query i prepare dry cake with the help of baking powder and baking soda following the same recipe given by my baking teacher but every time my inner texture seems uncooked though knife test come very clear.
recipe is given below
blend banana finely than add butter and sugar + essence
sieve maida , B P and B S
mix in to banana better and baked on medium heat in pre heated cooker for 30 mins
Try using a tooth pick instead of knife. And try baking for longer time. every oven is different and each takes different time to bake the cake.
Hi Gayathri, I have a query, would appreciate if you can help me, have got readymade mix packet of hedgehog slice, it requires 1 egg, what substitute will work for this.
Thanks.
You can use 1/4 cup of home made curd instead of an egg.
I am happy to have seen your post and my problem is to have a wonderul recepie for egg and eggless brownie and egg and eggless chocolate chip cookies
You can check my recipe index. All the recipes are in the blog.
Can you please mention in grams?
Any liquid will be 50 ml for 1/4 cup. Mashed fruits might weigh 30-40 gm for 1/4th cup. Hope this helps