Recipe for 'deliciously moist' chocolate cake uses no eggs, milk or butter (2024)

FAQs

What happens to a cake without enough eggs? ›

A box cake with no eggs or not enough eggs may be dense or poorly risen or may not hold together properly.

One common ingredient swap that is known to help make cakes remarkably moist is using milk instead of water. Try switching out any water in your recipe for full-fat milk or buttermilk for a moist, decadent texture. Another ingredient that can enhance the moisture of your cake is mayonnaise.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

GROUND FLAXSEED OR CHIA SEEDS & WATER

You can combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed or ground chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water to create a thick, gelatinous mixture for baking without eggs.

Using a 1/4 cup of milk or yogurt in place of eggs is perfect for baked goods where moisture is key, such as cakes or muffins. (Vegans can use plant-based milks or yogurt in its place.

Brush With Simple Syrup/Other Liquid

A quick brush of simple syrup adds moisture. When the cake has completely cooled, brush a thin layer of simple syrup on top. Instead of simple syrup, you can even use Sprite (yes, I'm serious).

Mayonnaise, the least likely of the bunch, actually gives the closest result to having used oil, and it retains the flavors of your cake or whatever baked good you are creating very well! Yogurt and sour cream also work in a pinch, but do change the flavor profile a tad.

Is it better to put sour cream or milk in a cake? ›

Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.) shortens gluten strands, which essentially leads to the most tender baked goods," she adds.

However, sour cream is thicker than buttermilk, so it's best to thin it with water or milk when making a buttermilk substitute. To replace 1 cup (240 mL) of buttermilk in a recipe, combine 3/4 cup (172 grams) of sour cream with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of water or milk, and whisk the mixture until smooth.

Whisk together water, oil, and baking powder.

This is a great substitute if you need to replace multiple eggs in a recipe, as it won't make the baked good too greasy or change its flavor profile (like some other substitutes). A simple combination of water, baking powder, and vegetable oil mimics eggs almost to a T.

Mayonnaise. If you have a jar of mayo in the fridge, you can use 3 tablespoons in place of one egg. "Mayonnaise has been used as an egg substitute because of its moistening properties and is best suited for cakes with strong flavors, like spice cakes and chocolate cakes," Tutunjian says.

Eggs also contain a variety of proteins that create the structure of a cake, and when beaten, they can act as a leavening agent by adding air to the cake batter. However, if you add too many eggs to your cake batter, then your end result could be spongy, rubbery, or dense.

Is It Safe to Eat Cake Mix Raw? Unfortunately, according to the CDC, the answer is no, and for the same reason you shouldn't eat raw cookie dough. Despite popular belief, the danger isn't in the raw eggs going into the mix—it's in the flour.

Eggs play an important role in everything from cakes and cookies to meringues and pastry cream — they create structure and stability within a batter, they help thicken and emulsify sauces and custards, they add moisture to cakes and other baked goods, and can even act as glue or glaze.

Cakes with eggs also tend to rise more than eggless cakes. This is because the proteins in the eggs help to stabilize the structure of the cake. Eggless cakes often rely on chemical leaveners, such as baking soda, to help them rise. Another difference between the two types of cake is the flavour.