Why Aquafaba is One of the Best Egg Substitutes for Vegan Cakes
Vegan alternatives: Don’t knock them until you try them! While sticking with the usual ingredients may seem like the safest option, vegan substitutes are a delicious and inclusive choice. When making a vegan cake, one of the trickiest adjustments can be replacing eggs, which are traditionally used to add moisture to most baked goods. But fear not, aquafaba is here to save your cake.
Aquafaba is the liquid from cooked chickpeas and other legumes, which is why you should never discard the leftover liquid from canned beans. It can be used in its more watery state or whipped into a fluffier mixture, both versions adding moisture to your vegan cake. Since it thickens and emulsifies the batter like eggs do, aquafaba is a great vegan alternative for any baked good. Note that aquafaba can also be added to any flavor of cake or muffin, so you can use it in a variety of recipes. There’s nothing worse than a dry slice of cake, especially for a vegan guest who may be watching others take delicious bites of the non-vegan dessert. So, try this waste-free vegan swap that will have everyone’s mouths watering.
Read more: Cake-Making Tips Every Baker Wishes They Knew Sooner
What is Aquafaba and why is it great for vegan cakes?
Aquafaba, which roughly translates to “bean water” in Latin, is a product you’ve probably been buying for years without even realizing it. Every time you strain a can of chickpeas or beans, the liquid you pour out is actually the key to more moisture. Aquafaba blends seamlessly with your other ingredients and provides a liquid that has a density and effect similar to eggs. This way, your vegan cake will always be light and fluffy without being too watered down or greasy.
So how do you incorporate your aquafaba into your recipe? If you’re looking for vegan cake recipes, many will tell you how much you need, but let’s break it down. Most cans of beans contain between ½ and ¾ cups of liquid—that’s the aquafaba. Knowing how much liquid your recipe calls for versus the cans will tell you how much to buy. Also, if you’re using a non-vegan recipe and want to substitute eggs, it’s important to know that one egg equals about 3 tablespoons of aquafaba. There are about 8 tablespoons of liquid in your canned beans, so do the math accordingly.
Finally, no, your vegan cake will not taste like beans! While there may be a slight chickpea smell in your raw batter, baking the cake will help blend the ingredients and eliminate any overly strong bean flavor.
More tips for vegan cakes
Aquafaba is just one way to improve your vegan cake and vegan baking in general. There are many dairy substitutes for milk, but one of the best for vegan cakes is soy. Soy milk actually has a similar emulsifying effect to aquafaba and mimics the role of egg yolks in non-vegan baking. This further increases the moisture content and also provides additional protein to your cake.
You can also keep the magic of aquafaba alive when you move on to the decorating phase of baking. Aquafaba can be easily whipped into meringue—as long as you avoid common meringue mistakes—or into a silky paste that allows it to be easily combined with frosting or vegan buttercream. You can use a low-moisture vegan butter to mix the aquafaba for extra fluffiness and a little sugar to sweeten the top of your vegan cake. And, since aquafaba mixes white, it’s easy to add food coloring and customize your decorations. You can also make a fabulous aquafaba chocolate mousse that can be enjoyed on its own or between the layers of your cake.
Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
