Let’s talk about eggs!
Eggs play an important roll in our baked goods. Eggs add structure, leavening, color, and flavor to our cakes and cookies. It’s the balance between eggs and flour that help provide the height and texture of many of the baked goods here on Joy the Baker. It’s a balancing act.
Different parts of the egg pull the weight in different ways. When whipped egg whites are folded into a batter, they help the cake to rise. Angel Food Cake is a perfect example of the power of egg whites. Egg yolks add a really lovely richness and thickening power to custards and ice cream bases. Cookie No-Dough Ice Cream is a prime example of the luscious thickening power of yolks. Yes… I just said luscious.
When whole eggs are heated, they become firm… we know this from eating hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. That’s the structure that helps bind our cakes. Finally, when beaten eggs are brushed onto unbaked crusts, they make the most wonderfully golden and shiny crusts. That’s a lot, right!? All from inside that light brown shell.
With all of the heavy lifting that eggs do in our kitchen, we really should talk about why we use a particular size egg in baking. Why Do We Use Large Eggs In Baking? Because it matters. Here’s the deal:
Here in the US we have different size eggs: medium, large, extra-large, and jumbo. The large the egg, the more egg goodness inside the egg.
Large eggs are about 57 grams or 3 1/4 tablespoons of egg. Extra-large eggs are about 64 grams, or 4 tablespoons of egg. Jumbo eggs are even larger.
Most baking recipes call for large eggs. If a recipe calls for two large eggs, that means the proportions of the recipe are counting on about 6 1/2 tablespoons of liquid egg. If we were to use extra-large or even jumbo eggs in place of large eggs, we’d adding far more liquid that the recipe proportions account for.
Now… there is some leeway in baking. It’s not always that 1 extra tablespoon of liquid will ruin a recipe. Let’s not get crazy. But, the more incorrectly sized eggs used in a recipe, the more the proportions are thrown. Four extra-large eggs instead of four large eggs means adding 3 extra tablespoons of liquid.
When it comes to successful baking (and successful living), we’re just trying to get as many things right as possible. Using large eggs, as most recipes indicate, is a part of that success.
If a recipe does not indicate the size egg to use, stick with large.
If a recipe calls for extra-large or jumbo eggs, like many of Ina Garten’s recipes do… raise your eyebrow and follow along. That either means buying larger eggs or weighing the eggs for accuracy. It’s weird though. I wish Ina knew that was weird.
There’s more in the Baking 101 game!
Baking 101: How To Read A Recipe
Baking101: Must We Sift This Flour?
Baking 101: Why We Use Unsalted Butter
Baking 101: The Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder
Baking 101: The Difference Between Dutch Processed and Natural Cocoa Powder
81 Responses
Silly question butโฆ when you weigh the egg do you do so still in its shell or already cracked.
already cracked!
How do you increase the proportons of a recipe if you use extra large eggs . Above only give the reasoning of liquid of the eggs if increase how do you change the recipe?
Hi Joy, I’ve recently started raising chickens and ducks and they are finally laying! Yay! It’s hard to determine actual egg size since they are so inconsistent compared to the store-bought options. Having the gram measurements you listed above are so helpful! I generally find that the duck eggs are closer the correct size. My question is related to egg whites specifically as, I’ve heard pasteurized eggs are best for meringues etc.? Do you have any guidance in that space? I have not tested with our fresh eggs yet. THANK YOU!
Oops, typo. “The large the egg …”, should be, “The larger the egg …”.
This article is very helpful, as I have been wondering for years how the size of eggs play a role in baking. I guess it is more difficult to “play with our food” in this case, because it really would throw off the entire recipe and desired outcome of the baked good. It is not as easy to just add more flour or baking soda/powder to make up for the lack of or extra liquid that comes from using the wrong size egg. I’ve done that before, and it really does make a difference. That is why baking is more of a Chemistry experiment. :)
I am impressed with this website, very I am a fan.
Ina’s Frozen Key Lime Pie calls for six extra Large yolks. I only have large eggs. How many extra large yolks should be used to equal six extra large yolks?
I would do 7 or 8
I have a friend who loves cake, and other baked goods requiring eggs. However, she is sensitive to eggs. Is there another substitute for eggs in baking?
Eggs do so much work sometimes there hard to replace depending on the cake. Here are my Vegan Egg Substitutes: https://joythebaker.com/2014/09/baking-101-favorite-vegan-egg-substitutes/ and some other help: https://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-substitutes/
Wish I had seen this when people were commenting! Ina Garten has it right and you have it wrong. Egg sizes have shrunk considerably over the years so that what used to be a medium-sized egg is now called “large”. I automatically default to a larger size egg just because of that. What made me write to you now is that yesterday I spent a considerable amount of time and money making a pound cake and realized too late that I had used the mini-sized things they now call large eggs. Sure enough the damned cake is dry! I will never again used the incorrectly-labeled “large” egg in a baking recipe.
Hmmmm…I’m going to have to check I’m right but I’m fairly sure here in the UK our large eggs average out at about 67g which means if I’m using an American recipe maybe I should be buying medium eggs here(https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-facts-and-figures/industry-information/egg-sizes)….as if converting for our lack of cake flour isn’t irritating enough…and don’t get me started on having to work out your measuring in cups rather than by weight. Ah well, now I know…it explains so much about my trouble with american recipes.
Let’s not forget that all that perfect protein helps us to feel better about all that fat and sugar! LOL! Hey – it’s how I justify it to myself!