Nicole's Super Egg

 I found out the hard way that my daughter was allergic to eggs.  As soon as she was able to eat soft foods like pancakes, I started making them for her.  As it happened, she got sick to her stomach and vomited every time she ate pancakes or waffles.  I attributed the bouts of illness to a bug she picked up from daycare.   It wasn’t until I tried feeding her a whole egg at the age of one that I discovered that she was allergic to eggs.  She had hives, vomiting, and breathing problems and it explained the prior vomiting and “croup” she had as a baby. 

My daughter, cake in question featured with candle

This discovery of her egg allergy happened days before her first birthday.   We were planning a big family gathering to celebrate, and I was looking forward to the big moment when she would eat her first bite of cake.  Immediately, I started researching how to bake without eggs.  I can’t even remember what I first tried, all I remember is that my daughter took one look at her cake and threw it on the floor.  I was devastated.  I tried eating it and the cake was just, plain awful.  That was 11 years ago. 

Fast forward to today, and I am still trying to master the art of baking without eggs.  I have used mashed bananas with success in making banana bread, but not for cookies.  I have purchased or have been given boxes of Ener-G Egg Replacer hoping for the magic bullet; overall, I was unimpressed.  I tried my hand at chemistry with baking soda and vinegar for a great, chocolate cake, but it didn’t work well with pancakes, breads, or cookies.  I started using ground flax seed over the last few years and I found that it was a great overall egg replacer for breads, cookies, and pancakes, but did nothing in a brownie.  I recently tried a new combination of Ener-G Egg Replacer and ground flax seed (remember all those boxes that I have purchased?).  To my delight, and to the delight of my children, it worked better than anything I have tried before.  It even worked great for brownies.  

Ground Flax (left) and Ener-G Egg (right)

Nicole’s Super Egg 

yield: substitution for one egg

2 tablespoons of finely ground flax seed

1 ½ teaspoons of Ener-G Egg Replacer

¼ cup of hot water

Combined Flax and Ener-G Egg Replacer

Stir until combined then whip with a fork or a whisk.  Allow it to rest for at least 5-10 minutes before combining into your recipe.

I have used this Super Egg for recipes like cookies and muffins for which the basic flax egg performed well.  My nemesis with egg free baking has always been the brownie.  Brownies just seemed to need an egg, until now.

I recommend using Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix.  The mix is dairy free, only calls for one egg, and accepts the super egg without problems.   I live at high altitude, so I added the extra ¼ cup of flour that was recommended on the box, but excluded adding the additional liquid.  Follow the directions on the box and add the Super Egg and bake as directed.

Remember, when you bake without eggs, everyone can lick the beaters!

See for yourself and let me know your thoughts on my Super Egg!