Vegan "Egg Yolk" Substitute

Since I do a fair amount of eggless and/or vegan baking, I've become relatively skilled in the standard egg replacers and their applications - bananas, tofu, flax, chia, and starch mixtures like my Homemade Egg Replacer. They all work to varying degrees (depending on the application you're looking for) but one thing I noticed is that they all replace whole eggs. Normally, it's not an issue, since most cookies, quickbreads and cakes use the whole thing, but when I was asked to make my mom's infamous shortbreads in a class with an egg allergy, I had a bit of a dilemma. The shortbreads get their trademark tenderness from egg yolk, and yolk alone - something that I had yet to find a replacement for in my travels.

I originally thought I'd have to give up on that recipe and was browsing for another (all the while moping that my kids wouldn't get to have "real" ones), but apparently the Cookie Gods were feeling generous that day and directed me over to the Better Batter website. I'd heard of Better Batter but it's not widely available here, so I don't use it (I make my own gluten free flour blends), but what was interesting was that their site had a recipe for a vegan egg yolk substitute. I cannot tell you how giddy I got (yes, it's sad) - like my whole egg replacer, it's a mixture of starches and water, but it's cooked together before oil (to replace the fat in the yolk) is beaten in.

Now, I didn't have their product to use, and since my mom's shortbreads use regular flour anyway I knew being gluten free wouldn't be necessary. I settled on mixing all-purpose flour with my favourite "batter egg" replacer - chickpea flour - for a blend of rich flavour and convenience (although I can't wait to try this with GF flours too). I also didn't need 9 yolk's worth of the mixture - even though it keeps well up to a month, I had no guarantee that I'd need that much before it went bad! So a little scaling-down went into play and I wound up with a perfect substitute for the two yolks I needed.

I couldn't believe how easy it was, and even though the colour was paler than a "real" egg yolk (obviously), if you need the colour you could easily add a drop or two of dye or a dash of turmeric.The one thing I did notice was that you really do need an electric mixer to make this properly. Surprisingly, I'm loath to drag out appliances for most things (mostly I don't want to clean them!), and thought that because it was such a small batch I could get away with my trusty spatula. Nuh-uh. That oil needs to be beaten into an emulsion with the cooked starch and normal arm strength just can't cut it (if you're a bodybuilder, by all means give it a whirl!).

As you can see, the shortbreads turned out perfectly - nice and tender, just like Mom's! That was the true test - and I have to say this earned a permanent spot in my arsenal.

Shared with Wellness Weekend

Vegan "Egg Yolk" Substitute

Makes ~1/4 cup, replaces 2 yolks

2 tbsp chickpea flour
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour, rice or sorghum flour
½ cup water
2 tsp canola oil
natural yellow food colouring or turmeric, if desired

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together flours and water until smooth.
2. Heat for 2 minutes, beating with a hand mixer halfway through.
3. Add oil and beat in well - add enough extra oil to make the consistency of the mixture like beaten egg yolks – this mixture should be smooth, thick, and stirrable, with the consistency of canned icing.
4. Use immediately or store tightly covered in the fridge up to 1 month.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 92.9
Total Fat: 5.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 3.8 mg
Total Carbs: 9.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 2.3 g