Feast in the MIddle East

You asked, and I listened–many of you have written to me asking, “What can I use instead of eggs for baking?” While eggs have been the gold standard for baking cakes and muffins, in the modern world of veganism, allergies, and just recently food shortages, I thought it was important to find the best egg alternative. I have to tell you, I had a blast carrying out this experiment, especially because it was an excuse to eat cake….lots and lots of cake! I tried 6 different egg replacements to make a low carb mug cake:

1 egg = 1 tbsp flax + 2 ½ tbsp water

1 egg = ¼ cup applesauce

1 egg = ¼ cup banana

1 egg = ¼ Greek yogurt

1 egg = ¼ sour cream

1 egg = ¼ aquafaba

And I can tell you, I was incredibly surprised at the results! This experiment definitely gave me a new profound respect for the egg, and how difficult it is to find a perfect replacement.

In my new video, you can see how we rated each mug cake based on appearance, taste, and texture. Some of the cakes didn’t rise as much, but had a great flavor. For those egg replacements, I would add an extra teaspoon of baking soda, along with the baking powder already in the recipe, to ensure that the cake will rise higher. As far as flavor goes, there was only one that was really off putting. This particular egg substitute is surprisingly quite popular with the vegan community, but was a disappointing let down for me in both flavor and texture. To see how all the egg replacements fared, check out the new video below. For your reference, I have also included the mug cake recipe below. Frankly, it’s a great way to enjoy your cake with the security of knowing there is portion control. Well, unless you have a constantly hungry teenager in the house that you know will burn off the cake the second it’s digested– then all bets are off!

Vanilla Mug Cake

1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup finely ground almond flour

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg ( or egg replacement of choice)

2 tbsp sugar, monkfruit, or erythritol

Combine butter, almond milk, vanilla, and egg or egg substitute of choice. Whisk until well combined. Add almond coconut flour, sweetener, and baking powder and mix until well combined. You can also bake it in the oven like I did, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Or, you can microwave them for 1-2 minutes.