Baking with just egg yolks?

So I like to make omelettes in the morning using 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites.

 Is it possible to use the 2 other egg yolks in place of 2 whole eggs when I bake cakes/cookies? Do I need to add in something else in place of the whites? Is it better just to use 2 whole eggs?

Thanks in advance!

I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at, but usually the egg yolk is what you're wanting to get rid of (not the egg white). The yolk contains all the cholesterol and (except for a negligible amount) all of the fat. The egg whites contain no saturated fat, cholesterol, and still have a good amount of protein. The egg whites also have fewer calories.

In regards to cooking, I've always heard that the rule of thumb is you can replace one egg yolk with two egg whites.

Original Post by hello_sunshine:

So I like to make omelettes in the morning using 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites.

 Is it possible to use the 2 other egg yolks in place of 2 whole eggs when I bake cakes/cookies? Do I need to add in something else in place of the whites? Is it better just to use 2 whole eggs?

Thanks in advance!

You could certainly try it. I'm with you on not wasting food. 

I'm sorry if this isn't any clearer, but...

So for breakfast, I eat 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites.
This leaves me with 2 egg yolks left over.

I plan to do some baking and the recipe calls for 2 whole eggs.

Can I use the leftover 2 egg yolks in place of the 2 whole eggs in the recipe?
Do I need to add something else in place of the egg whites in the recipe?

Original Post by hello_sunshine:

I'm sorry if this isn't any clearer, but...

So for breakfast, I eat 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites.
This leaves me with 2 egg yolks left over.

I plan to do some baking and the recipe calls for 2 whole eggs.

Can I use the leftover 2 egg yolks in place of the 2 whole eggs in the recipe?
Do I need to add something else in place of the egg whites in the recipe?

 I understood your question. 

I think it depends on what you are baking. Some recipes specify to only use egg whites, for structural stability. Some specify yolks only for the same reason.

Just try it and see if it works. Eggs aren't that expensive in the grand scheme of things (coming from someone on an extremely tight budget)

I'm baking brownies and a cake from powdered mixes.

Alternatively, just eat 2 whole eggs for breakfast.  The cholesterol in fresh eggs is harmful only if you have heart disease or perhaps if you eat vast quantities of eggs.  And your body needs moderate amounts of fat to function. And eggs with yolks are tasty.

I have a lot of experience with cooking & baking.  If you're baking brownies and cakes from a mix and only using 2 yolks to replace 2 whole egges, you'll be missing some liquid.  The yolks are what gives these items the texture you are used to seeing. I'd just add a few tablespoons of water to replace the liquid missing from the whites.

Think of a pound cake and an angel food cake. A pound cake is made with only yolks, an angel food cake with only whites. The whites are lighter and they give the angel food cake that springy sticky texture with bigger air pockets. The yolks are denser and give the pound cake that finer grain texture and is much heavier.

In the middle are brownies and regular cakes. Their texture is not as dense as pound cake, but no where near as light as an angel food cake. Most white cake mixes use only egg whites so as not to "color" the cake with the yellow yolks. Because the whites are not beaten first and then folded into the batter, the texture comes out about the same as a yellow or chocolate cake. It is lighter, but not as signicantly as angel food cake.

I hope this info helps. It is very hard to toally mess up a cake or brownie mix as they are so thoroughly tested under varying conditions as to make them almost fool proof. So if you have the two yolks left over, use them and add a little more liquid, 1-2 tablespoons per egg.

If you're saving your yolks for a couple of days, just make sure they're in an airtight container. They will dry out on top after 3-5 days. You could put a few drops of oil on top of the yolks to keep them from drying out. Don't keep much longer than a week.

You can also get some powdered egg whites (also called meringue powder).  Then when you are baking and it asks for whole eggs, use your leftover egg yolks, add the appropriate amount of egg white powder, and voila!  Whole eggs in your recipe.

If your grocery store doesn't have the powdered egg whites (I think you can also get liquid ones but they don't last as long), try your local hobby store.  They often have it in the cake decorating / candy making section.

Wow, thank you! This was all really helpful!

I've solved the dilemma by using whole eggs again.  After reading this, from the World's Healthiest Foods website - Eggs - which says, in part

Eggs and Heart Health

...choline also has an impact on cardiovascular health since it is one of the B vitamins that helps convert homocysteine, a molecule that can damage blood vessels, into other benign substances. Eggs are also a good source of vitamin B12, another B vitamin that is of major importance in the process of converting homocysteine into safe molecules.

Eggs are high in cholesterol, and health experts in the past counseled people to therefore avoid this food. (All of the cholesterol in the egg is in the yolk.) However, nutrition experts have now determined people on a low-fat diet can eat one or two eggs a day without measurable changes in their blood cholesterol levels. This information is supported by a statistical analysis of 224 dietary studies carried out over the past 25 years that investigated the relationship between diet and blood cholesterol levels in over 8,000 subjects. What investigators in this study found was that saturated fat in the diet, not dietary cholesterol, is what influences blood cholesterol levels the most.

Since my blood cholesterol isn't too high, and since I know for sure I have no cardiovascular disease, I've decided that 4 to 6 eggs a week are ok for me.  Everybody needs to decide this for themselves.

in baking if you use just whites it makes baked items a bit more chewy (rubbery)  instead of moist. If your not really into baking you might not be bothered by the change but, it's a personal thing.

i know you can replace the yolk for whenever theres fat....

works great in pie shell recipes!

I highly recommend baked Egg custard.  Below are some recipes for different types although my mom always just mad plain egg custard that was amazing.

LINK Egg Custard
LINK Banana Egg Custard
LINK Banana Custard Pudding
LINK Carmel Custard (flan)

To answer the question of substituting just yolks for whole eggs - don't do it unless you don't care if the texture of the finished baked goods is off.  In baking the ingredients undergo physical changes as they bake.  Eggs add cohesion and lightness.  Using just yolks might result in crumbly cake.