Questions Answered: Natural Egg Substitutes

This was a fabulous question added by Liz (EatTheCookie) to our discussion on my Strawberries-n-Cream cake recipe.  Felt this was a must share as I do get this question fairly often from you all, but haven't done an individual post on it yet.  Liz asked:

"Think these could be made eggless somehow?  Maybe with applesauce and additional coconut flour?"   ~ eatthecookie

She's on the right track.  Eggs do two things while baking - add moisture and thicken.  With the lack of gluten in the almond and coconut flours, applesauce wouldn't do the trick.  Applesauce is more so a general replacer for oils in a recipe.  And remember, coconut flour absorbs moisture/liquid about 2x as all purpose flour.  When adding more to a recipe, you also need to up your liquid (usually this means adding an extra egg).

So, how do you substitute eggs while baking?  Here is my response to Liz -- my two tried and true ways, discovered mainly on the days I had to have brownies or spice cake and didn't have any eggs in the house.  :)

Two major areas of advice for you to go eggless, EatTheCookie:

1.) Flaxseeds are a pretty good egg replacer as they are high in omega 3 fatty acids.

Replacing one egg you will need:

1 Tbsp of fresh ground flaxseeds
3 Tbsp of water.

Stir together in a small bowl. Let sit a couple minutes and the mixture will become glutinous - like an egg white. To test, when you lift the mixture out of the bowl and let it drop, it should resemble that raw eggy texture.  If not, let sit longer.

This substitution works best in heavy breads, dense cakes, cookies, muffins, etc.  And will cause your batter to go dark in color, so probably not an ideal choice for this particular pretty pink cake.

2.) Baking soda & vinegar - the chemical reaction between the two helps to make baked recipes nice and fluffy.  The vinegar taste cooks out and the end product is light and fluffy, perfect substitute for cakes and other baked goods.

Replacing one egg you will need:

1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg brand)
1 tsp baking soda (aluminum free and naturally mined using water)

How I do it is mix together all the other recipe ingredients to form the batter.  In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda.  Once it fizzes up, add to the cake batter and fold it in with a spatula (don't whisk or beat it in.  Will ruin the bubbles).  You'll be amazed at the results!

So give these methods a try, guys!  Whether you, too, are simply out of eggs and in a baking mood, or maybe you have an egg allergy or are vegan.  Whatever your reason, I'm confident you'll find success with either of these methods.