Tuesday’s Tip with The Kitchen Whisperer

It’s time for Tuesday’s Tip with um.. me *grin* So let’s taking baking and eggs; room temperature eggs to be specific.  Do you know why it’s so important to have your eggs at room temperature when you bake (okay there are a few recipes that want your eggs cold but they are few and far between)?

When you add your eggs to your mixture, if they are cold/straight out of the fridge the mixture won’t emulsify properly. In cakes, if made with room-temperature eggs your cake will have a slightly finer, more even crumb. It is extremely important to use room-temperature eggs for cake batters that rely on whipping air into the beaten eggs, such as angel food and chiffon cakes, since cold egg whites don’t whip as well, resulting in a dense cake. With room temperature eggs, the whites and yolks will combine easier when whisking. This means that the eggs will disperse more evenly into the batter, making for even cooking and a lighter texture (because the eggs trap air).

What to do if you’re in a hurry and take your eggs straight out of the refrigerator? Easy. Just put the eggs in a bowl of fairly warm water for about 10-15 minutes. When I am making either a cake or cupcakes I take my eggs out first and put them in warm water while I am getting the rest of my ingredients. By the time I get to the step in the recipe where the eggs are to be added to the batter, they have warmed up to room temperature.