What Happens If You Add Too Many Eggs When Baking? - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What Happens If You Add Too Many Eggs When Baking? - Tasting Table? ›

Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

The more eggs that are added, the stronger the physical protein bonds will be. While the yolk also contains some protein, it's more famous for its fattiness. Egg yolks give a smooth, velvety texture to whatever they're added to, whether it's a cake batter or my favorite luscious lemon curd from Bakes by Brown Sugar.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

“95–99% of the time, recipes are developed with large eggs.” (Of course, if a recipe is specifically formulated with a certain egg size—one famous Contessa, for example, bakes with extra-large—seek them out for the most successful result.) Egg size matters more in some baking recipes than others.

They give brownies a lighter, drier, and more cake-like texture. If you prefer this over the chewy variety, then go ahead and crack in that additional egg. On the other hand, too many eggs will yield brownies that are hard, heavy, and tough.

Eggs are responsible for giving baked goods structure, which means the amount you use directly affects the resulting texture. Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery.

Add an Extra Egg

Most cake mixes call for two to three eggs. Just one more egg will add extra moisture, fat, and a little protein, which means the cake will be softer and less likely to overbake and dry out in the oven.

Using jumbo double yolk eggs in your cookie mix should be fine. The extra yolk might add richness and moisture to the cookies, resulting in a slightly different texture. Adjusting the other ingredients, like flour or sugar, may help balance the overall consistency if needed. Enjoy your baking!

Fewer eggs will create a denser and firmer meatloaf that will be more compact and easier to slice, but more eggs can create a more tender and light texture that allows the meatloaf to melt in your mouth. Overall, the number of eggs in meatloaf for two pounds of meat should be about two eggs.

What to do with too many eggs? ›

You can whisk 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of baking powder together to replace each egg in baked goods like cookies, brownies or quick breads. This substitution won't impact a recipes' flavor profile the way egg substitutions like mashed banana or flaxseed might.

Adding more eggs makes for a spongy, less flavorful banana bread. Doubling the number of eggs I was using resulted in a spongy cake with a moist texture.

The more eggs you add, the more chewy and almost cake-like your cookie will be.

Making pancake and waffle batter ahead of time is a huge no-no and will lead to flat, dense results every time. Even letting your batter hang out for just a few minutes after you've mixed it before you start ladling it onto the griddle will lead to less fluffy results.

The larger the egg, the more moisture, richness, and leavening it will add. For example, let's take a cake recipe that uses 2 eggs. If the cake turned out denser than you'd hoped, you can add an extra egg next time. Fewer eggs in recipes usually create a more fudgy consistency.

What happens if you use old eggs. If you use older eggs, the cakes will not rise as well and pavlovas will be flatter than they should be. Generally, the cakes will still work as long as you get some volume from beating, they just won't be as tall or light-as-air as they should be.

The extra yolks help to keep the cake crumb moist with almost custardy undertones/flavors. We omit extra whites because they would make the cake crumb too light (remember, this is a dense cake!) and could even make it dry.