How To Swap In Mayo For Eggs In Your Next Baking Recipe
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When you aren't enjoying them poached over avocado toast, as a jammy topping for a bowl of ramen or cooked any-style for breakfast, eggs are a crucial ingredient for baked goods. With the price of eggs skyrocketing, however, mayo is the cheap pantry staple that works as an alternative in your next baking recipe. In case you didn't know, mayonnaise is a blend of eggs and oil with a bit of acid. So, considering that eggs are the key ingredient in the substitute you'll use for swapping eggs, you can count on successful execution.
The general rule of thumb for swapping mayo for eggs is to use three tablespoons of mayo for every egg that the recipe calls for. Eggs tend to have two purposes when it comes to baking: Binding and leavening. Because mayonnaise contains primarily egg yolks, its leavening powers are limited. So, you might have to rely more heavily on other leavening agents like baking powder, or a blend of baking soda and acid. That said, mayo is the perfect binding agent, and because it has both yolks and oil, it'll bring moisture and richness to cakes, muffins, and quick breads. Not only is it the perfect binder for all your dry ingredients, but you can also use mayo as a creamy swap for egg wash to brush over the top of pastries, bagels, and brioche.
Baked goods that benefit from a mayo swap
As a binding agent, a fat, and a wet ingredient, mayo is ideal for baked goods with a denser, richer crumb; it won't work well in a meringue, souffle, or angel food cake, for example. While mayo has a fairly neutral and versatile taste, you can mask any hint of mayonnaise in your baked goods with the help of strong flavors like chocolate, baking spices, banana, and cranberry.
To that effect, there are plenty of recipes that use mayo from the start to the exclusion of eggs; there's a rich Texas chocolate cake that features an entire cup of mayonnaise, for example. Mayonnaise would also be the perfect egg swap in a batch of homemade brownies like these ultra fudgy brownies, or to use with your favorite store-bought brownie mix brand like this gluten-free brownie mix from King Arthur Baking Co that received our number one ranking of 12 boxed brownie mixes. For that matter, you can check out our ranking of mayonnaise brands to ensure you get the best quality egg substitute.
You should consider using mayo in your next batch of muffins for the most tender and moist crumb. Try adding mayonnaise to this blueberry muffin recipe or these banana muffins. Banana cake and banana bread are also excellent recipes for the mayo swap as they're both decadently dense and rich.