Here's a slightly unusual question from Kathy in Australia. It might have some practical use, though, for those of you baking for just one. If you've ever wanted to really downsize a muffin recipe, you might find some tips here:
I've recently been given an electric muffin maker. Trouble is that it only makes 3 muffins at a time and most muffin recipes use at least one egg to make about a dozen muffins. I have found one eggless recipe that I can modify but am interested in what suggestions you have for a replacement for the egg (which is very difficult to downsize!). I believe that vinegar is one option used by vegans but am unsure of quantities.
Kathy, what an unusual little gadget! We had never seen the Muffin Magic Baker before this question, so we did a little research. Turns out it's made by Breville (a very popular brand in Australia, as well as here in the US). It actually doesn't even seem to be available here; you can see the Amazon listing here:
• Breville Muffin Magic
On the surface, this little gadget looks like a classic unitasker, but we think that it might actually be quite useful for those in dorm rooms or efficiency apartments, especially considering it's very inexpensive (if you can find it). This baking blogger also raves about her Muffin Baker.
So, if you have one of these Muffin Bakers, what do you do with it? Kathy, we have a couple suggestions. First of all, feel free to experiment. If you split a recipe and it calls for 1 egg, why not throw it in? If anything the muffins might just be a little moister or gummier. Also, try making two batches -- this muffin baker bakes each batch in about 12 minutes.
But if you want to be more precise about it, try one of the recipes from this cookbook:
• Small-Batch Baking, by Debby Maugans Nakos (Workman 2004)
You can find one of the recipes from it here:
• Apple Nut Oatmeal Muffins - This looks like it just uses one egg yolk, instead of the whole egg. Perhaps this is a good template for you to create other small-batch muffin recipes.
You could also try experimenting with other non-muffin recipes like cornbread, biscuits - even pancake batter!
And finally, you could consult some vegan recipes and find ideas for using egg replacer, which of course you can use in much smaller amounts.
Related: Good Question: What Can I Bake Without An Oven?
(Images: Amazon)
I know you can use a combo of flax seeds and water to make an egg substitute in baking. My roommate was vegan and used to do this all the time. It actually makes a mixture that is VERY similar in consistency to egg whites.
view JENK968's profile
what about the egg-in-a-carton stuff? I believe that is a direct egg substitute?
view jumpyfroggy's profile
Using egg for smaller recipes is easy if you know that 1 large egg = 2 Tablespoons. Halving a recipe? Whisk the egg a bit and use 1T. You can freeze the rest for later use.
I do bake small batches a lot, so I crack and whisk a few eggs together, then I put 1 teaspoon into each section of an ice cube tray and freeze them. When they're totally frozen (at least 24 hours), I pop them out of the tray and stick them in a zippy bag.
This also works with the egg-in-a-carton as jumpyfroggy suggested, it's just more expensive that way.
view sillyputty's profile
sillyputty, that's genius!
view Sunshinedaydream's profile
i often reduce recipes so i need less than an egg (like sunday morning pancakes for two). i just whisk the egg a bit & eyeball it & throw the rest away. @sillyputty's approach is even better, although it's unlikely i'd ever get around to using the leftover frozen egg from my freezer. my freezer is truly the land of good intentions gone bad...
view ratgrrrl's profile
Also, In my experience, those "12 muffin" recipes usually only make 6-8 muffins with the pretty and traditional fluffy dome top. Halving the recipe as sillyputty recommends will get you to 3-4 muffins pretty easily.
Also, if you can get your hands on small eggs (as opposed the standard large, extra large, or jumbo), you may be able to shrink your recipe even more successfully. Small eggs have 25% less volume than a large egg (according to this site: http://www.sizes.com/food/chicken_eggs.htm), which would be a perfect way to reduce that recipe from one that makes 8 muffins to one that make 6. Shrink the rest of your ingredients by 25% as well, then divide the recipe in half, and you have a perfect recipe for 3 muffins... if you like math.
To find small eggs, try your local farmers market.
Good Luck!
view fib's profile
I sometimes use applesauce in place of eggs in muffins.
If it were me, I'd make the full batch of batter and split it into 4 portions. I'd then either bake it in 4 batches, or freeze the extra 3 portions for later (freezing cookie dough works afterall, maybe it would for muffin batter too?).
view angorian's profile
i usually use egg substitute when i am making something that requires less than one egg. i never miss the yolk, and it's easy to just pour a couple tablespoons.
view thinkingwoman's profile
If fridge space is not an issue for you, you might also try making muffin batter that is designed to not all be cooked at once. Search for 'refrigerator muffin' recipes - I know Fine Cooking has an article about them with several recipes, and their recipes are generally really good. That way you can mix the batter up and have several fresh muffins everyday all week long.
view Grumpy Girl's profile
Applesauce can do the trick, my friend also made me vegan brownies once that used applesauce for the oil to make them healthier and mashed bananas instead of the egg--perhaps an easy fix if you're making banana nut muffins already. As above, the quantity for one large egg is 2 tbsps, so halve as needed.
view Leah Hope's profile
Just a tip on saving the eggs for later if you opt for whisking and measuring out for your small batch needs:
Plop your leftovers into ice trays. Let them freeze, then pop them into freezer bags. Especially if you know you'll only use 1T at a time, just pre-measure them into the tray and pop them back out when you need to make your next batch.
view pxlchk1's profile
Here is a whole list of subs:
http://www.foodsubs.com/Eggs.html
@sillyputty - Your numbers are a bit off. A large egg is 3 tablespoons. And, fyi, egg substitute is 4 tablespoons per egg.
view cara_mia's profile
good question: why would you ever want only three muffins?!?
I've baked vegan brownies by substituting apple sauce for the eggs-- I imagine it would work very well with brownies. But for those cooking for one without a 3 muffin maker, they freeze very well.
view foodefafa's profile
I saw a blog post about baking brownies with flax seed as a substitute for eggs, and looked really good (http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/07/10/eggless-brownies/). They substituted 1 teaspoon of flax seed meal mixed with 1/4 cup of water for each egg, so maybe one could use a 1/2 tsp of flax seed meal in place of half an egg.
view PhoenixAtDawn's profile