Egg substitutes in baking

What an egg is doing in a cake

Before replacing it, work out its role. An egg can bind (hold the structure together), add moisture, act as a raising agent when whipped, or add colour. It rarely does all four: in most home baking it does one or two.

The six most useful replacements

The amounts below are starting points for replacing one egg in simple cakes, muffins and similar batters. The result depends on the recipe: where eggs carry most of the structure, you are better off starting from a recipe formulated without them.

• ●Apple sauce (60 g): binds and adds moisture. Good in rustic cakes, brownies, muffins. No use in a sponge.
• ●Mashed ripe banana (50 g): like apple sauce, but you taste it. Excellent in banana bread (obviously) and pancakes.
• ●Ground flaxseed (1 tbsp + 3 tbsp water): hydrate for 10 minutes until it gels. Binds very well, gives a rustic crumb.
• ●Plain yoghurt (60 g): keeps moisture and structure, and acidifies the batter — add bicarbonate to compensate.
• ●Aquafaba (3 tbsp of chickpea water): the only substitute that whips. Essential for vegan meringues, macarons and mousses.
• ●Blended silken tofu (60 g): binds without leaving a flavour and adds creaminess. Ideal in cheesecakes and custards.

What does not work

Milk, dairy or plant-based, adds liquid but does not do the egg's structural work on its own. It is not a universal substitute: judge it together with the rest of the recipe.