From Rags to Riches?

Now to cakes made without using eggs. When looking up the recipes (below) posted in the early months of this blog also found a list of ingredients that can take the place of eggs when making a cake. Am giving these first as they help to explain why the following recipes work so well.

Egg substitutes:

1 small banana, mashed OR

1 tsp. baking powder with 1 tsp each water and vinegar OR

1 tblsp apricot puree (as in baby food) OR

1 tblsp apple sauce OR

1 tblsp golden syrup OR

1 1/2 tblsp each oil and water with 1 tsp baking powder

All the cake recipes below use dried mixed fruits (with peel), and as yet have not found a plain eggless cake recipe, although some are sure to be found on the Internet.

Irish Fruit Cake:

10 fl oz (275ml) strained tea (no milk or sugar)

8 oz (225g) mixed dried fruit

4 oz (100g) margarine

4 oz (100g) caster sugar

1 tblsp golden syrup

9 oz (250g) self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp mixed spice

Put the tea in a pan with the dried fruit, margarine, sugar and syrup, and heat until the sugar and fat has dissolved, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and spice, then make a well in the centre and pour in the tea mixture. Stir well to combine, then pour into a greased and lined 8" (20cm) cake tin and bake at 180C, 350F, gas 4 for one and a half hours - but tent with foil (shiny side up) after the first half hour to prevent it browning too much. Cool in tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a cake airer.

An optional extra is to sprinkle demerara sugar over the top of the cake before baking.

This next eggless cake is similar to the above but uses yogurt as an ingredient and made slightly differently.

Spicy Yogurt Cake:

8 oz (225g) self raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 oz (100g) soft margarine

4 oz (100g) caster sugar

4 oz (100g) mixed dried fruit

half tsp mixed spice

5 fl oz (150ml) natural yogurt

Sift together the flour and bicarb, then rub in the margarine until like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and dried fruits. Warm the yogurt, stirring in the mixed spice, then stir this into the dry mix. Fold together then pour into a greased loaf tin. Bake at 180C, 350F, gas 4 for 1 hour. Tent with foil if browning too quickly.

Final eggless cake recipe comes from America, so the measurements are in 'cups'. Not a problem if we remember that 1 cup = 8 fl.oz. As always, recipe using cups, measure by volume not by weight. Myself use a glass measuring jug instead of a cup, although do have a set of plastic 'cup' measuring spoons.

Made in a similar way to muffins (dry ingredients mixed together in one bowl, wet in another) the two mixes could be made the evening before, but kept separate and then assembled just before baking. Either bake in one tin, or instead bake smaller cakes/muffins.

No Egg Orange Cake:

1 cup plain flour (8 fl oz)

2/3rds cup sugar (just under 6 fl oz)

quarter cup (2 fl oz) cocoa

three quarters of a teaspoon bicarb. soda

1 tsp grated zest of an orange

pinch salt

half cup semi-skimmed milk (4 fl oz)

half cup orange juice (4 fl oz)

1/3rd cup sunflower oil (just under 3 fl oz)

Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarb, orange zest and salt. Then into a jug put the wet ingredients (milk, orange juice and oil). Pour the wet into the dry and mix well together. Pour into a greased shallow square 8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm) baking tin, or 2/3rds fill 12 muffin cases.

Bake at 180C, 350F, gas 4 for 30 - 35 minutes for the larger cake, and slightly less time if cooking as muffins. Cool on a wire rack and sprinkle over icing sugar when cold.