Some years ago I had a student who wanted to know if I had a recipe for a moist and tender chocolate pound cake without eggs. At the time I did not, but it did not keep me from hitting my lab and get to work. I knew that the mixing method had to be changed after all we ordinarily use eggs as an emulsifier. Certainly we also use eggs as a structure builder in cake, so that created another layer of complexity. During my testing I learned that oil, not butter is the better choice for creating tenderness, and oil allows you to make a cake completely free of cholesterol! In this cake, using water –not milk made the cake tender and moist.
If you are in a situation where you need a cholesterol free-lactose free-egg free moist chocolate pound cake, I suggest you try this one. You really can bank on this formula.
Getting it all together!
I suggest you make this cake in small loaf pans versus larger ones. Certainly you can also remove the almond flour, add oats, dried fruits and nuts and make it into a muffin.
Chocolate Pound Cake without eggs or cholesterol.
Yield : 4 small pound cakes
| 3 Cups | (13.5 oz) | Pastry or all purpose flour | 415 g |
| 1 Cup | (3.5 oz) | Cocoa powder | 100 g |
| 2 Cups | (16 oz) | Extra fine granulated sugar | 480 g |
| 2 Teaspoons | (2 tsp) | Baking soda | 8 g |
| 1 teaspoon | (1 tsp) | Salt | 5 g |
| 1 ½ Cups | (12 oz) | Water | 360 g |
| 1 Cup | (8 oz) | Grapeseed oil | 240 g |
| 1 Tablespoon | (1 Tbsp) | Vanilla extract | 15 ml |
¼ Cup (2 oz) Apple cider vinegar 60 ml
1 teaspoon (1 tsp) Almond extract 5 g
1 Cup (4 oz) Almond flour* 120 g
*In the U.S almond flour is 100% ground almonds.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking soda.
- Using a whisk combine the salt, water, oil, vanilla, vinegar and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and combine. Add the almond flour.
- Divide into buttered and floured pans and fill ¾ full. Bake in a 350°F (180°C) oven until the center bounces back when lightly pressed.
- If desired frost the cakes with cholesterol free ganache. (Recipe coming soon).
This one I am going to make for sure…and soon. Nothing as seductive as a wonderful photo of a chocolate cake. Chef Eddy, as usual you have done it!!!
Wow, Chef! This looks so delectable!! Can’t wait to try it!
I am intrigued by the idea of cake without eggs. I was in the bakery the other day and was a bystander to a conversation between a customer and the owner’s wife up at the front counter. The customer had ordered a wedding cake and needed one that was egg-free. The ensuing conversation left the owner’s wife insisting that there is no such thing as an egg-free cake and the customer insisting that that was indeed what the bride needed.
Obviously, here, you’ve accomplished this. :0) But a pound cake has a much different crumb than a traditional white cake, such as that in a wedding cake or a petit four. CAN a traditional white cake be eggless as well? Or does the emulsion using oil create a pound-cake like crumb consistently?
Thank you, Chef! As always, I was eagerly awaiting your blog update and this truly could not be a more fitting (and timely!) posting! Thanks for your continued (and consistent!) dedication to sharing your knowledge! ;0) I enjoy your blog each and every week!
Hope you are enjoying the summer!
Hilary
What else can I say but “Wow”.
This truly looks so amazing Chef Eddy! You can clearly see how moist and delicious the cake is and will be. You never cease to amaze me! I can’t wait to try this one! Thank you!!!!! Looking forward to what’s coming next!
Does it matter what kind of ground almonds we use for this recipe? I have both almond meal and blanched almond flour. The blanched almond flour is a much finer grain than the almond meal!
Hi Rosie,
Both will work fine.
Eddy.
I have a vegan friend that has a peanut allergy, this cake is perfect for him, thanks so much for sharing this!
This was so good! Made it this weekend, and everyone loved it! Thanks Chef Eddy!
Chef Eddy,
Thanks for the recipe adjustment idea!
As we discussed, the first time I made this I was out of almond flour and so substituted 1 cup oats with no other adjustments and unfortunately ended up with a very dry cake.
I made the recipe again, but this time (as you suggested) first soaked the 1 cup oats in 1 cup orange juice, and increased the water in the recipe by ½ cup. It came out fabulous!
The cake has a tender and moist crumb with a great flavor. I also sprinkled the cakes before baking with a few toasted oats and brown sugar, which added a little crunch on top. Thank you for an excellent eggless dairy free recipe!
Raina Willick
Now I know what is like to eat healthy… Thanks for reminding us that chef eddy…
In mijn beste Engels…
I’ve seen you on the Belgian/Flemish television. I was already experimenting with recipes without eggs. I’m gonna try this for sure. And bookmark this site…
Leen
Leen,
Hope the results will be pleasing!
All the best,
Eddy
Can use this cake with the Black Foreset cake in glass recipe?
Hi Ben,
Sure you can use egg free pound cake for black forest cake in a glass.
Does this pound cake has the same texture that the one in the book?
Hi Eddy,
I REALLY ENJOYED your site. It was one of the best! I simply loved baking, even when I was much younger. I never give up when I failed to make a cookie or a cake etc etc. I have a question though, I have been baking chocolate chip cookies and I always find that it is so soft after several hours. Is there a secret ingredient that makes chocolate chip cookies CRISP or CRUNCHY? I was never interested in soft, chewy cookies becos they never kept long, just too soft after a day of baking. Can you please help with your expertise? thanks alot.
Chef is there any substitute for grapeseed oil???????????
Hi Ritu,
Sue another good oil to use is olive oil- NOT Extra Virgin, just a light flavored olive oil. For economical style baking other oils will work as well. My best,
Eddy.
Hi Yeong,
I do not have your recipe so therefore it makes it very difficult to pinpoint the exact problems. (Even one egg can make a difference between a soft and a crisp cookie) One of the causes of soft cookies is using shortening and or margarine instead of butter. Also using too much fat (Butter, margarine, shortening). If you would reduce the amount of fat then you would have to increase the amount of sugar and reduce the oven temperature.
Hope this helped,
Eddy
Thanks Chef!!Appreciate it!
Hi Eddy,
Thanks for your advice and help. Will take your advice and see what happens on my next cookie baking.
Have a great weekend!
Now that look good Chef ….I thought egg was needed to help the cake to rise….
I love this cake recipe! Every time I have made this cake for friends or family, they LOVE it! Do you have a vanilla version that is as moist as this cake turns out?
Thanks alot for this eggless cake recipes, pls add more on eggless recipes. Thanks again.
a eggless cake i never would of guessed that it would be even possible. this is another great healthy alternative thanks chef
Wow this sounds like it would be a delicious egg free cake! I have many vegan friends ask me to make them egg free cakes, but the recipes I have tried just turn out dry and gritty.
I think almond extract is too much, Im not that big fan of almond so I would probably substitute that with vanilla. Also, with this recipe without eggs does it make the cake not rich in taste? I think it is healthier, but without egg I don’t know if it would not be dull and dry..
So many people have allergies to eggs and more are watching their health now. This will be a moist easy step by step recipe to try with a great flavor melting in your mouth.
Hello Chef Eddy,
I want to adopt your recipe and I just want to know if I can make the following substitutios:
Grape seed oil – will use canola oil
Apple Cider Vinegar – can I use the ordinary white vinegar?
I await you reply.
Thanks
Wale