More Eggs Make Cake Dense

This is the fourth in a series of 7 “Cake Batter” classes. This article will explore an important ingredient in cake batter, eggs.

In the 3rd class we looked at one of the cake structure-builders, flour. We learned that low protein, chlorinated cake flour produced a cake with a light and tender texture. Now it’s time to learn about the other structure-builder for cake batter, eggs.

To learn detailed information about the composition and science of eggs as an ingredient, please visit the Baking Ingredients – Eggs page. This class will focus specifically on eggs in pound cake batter.

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The most important job of eggs in a cake batter is to contribute structure in the form of proteins from both the yolk and the white. The protein coagulates as the cake bakes and, along with the starch from the flour, forms the cake crumb.

So what does all this mean for our pound cake recipe? It means we can alter the cake significantly by manipulating the number of eggs, yolks and whites in the batter.

The yolk contributes protein, but also some fat, flavor, and emulsifying lecithin. Because emulsifiers hold water and fat together, adding extra egg yolks to the batter enables the batter to hold extra liquid and, consequently, extra sugar. This helps create a moister and sweeter cake that will still bake up with a good structure rather than falling into a gooey mass.

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When separated from the yolks and whipped to a foam, egg whites can be used to leaven a cake. Whipping egg whites has the same effect as cooking whites- the proteins unfold, reattach and trap water. Since the whipped whites are already partially “cooked” they don’t contribute as strongly to the structure of the cake.

In my testing I found that a cake made with the same proportion of yolks and whites had a softer texture when the whites were whipped and folded into the batter.

I wanted to see how changing the number of yolks and whites in our pound cake recipe would affect the final product. So I baked six cakes, changing the number of yolks and whites for each test.

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I kept the other ingredients (butter, sugar, flour) to 8 oz each. Though I varied the number of yolks and whites, I kept the total weight of eggs for each test at 8 oz.

For the last two tests I separated the eggs, whipped the whites with 2 oz of the sugar, and folded them into the batter before baking.

There is no “right” answer as to which outcome is the best. It’s a matter of taste and what works for your purposes. But knowing how to use eggs to tweak your recipes is a valuable tool for every baker.

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When we’re done experimenting with all the ingredients for this “cake batter” course, we’ll use all we’ve learned to create Pound Cake Perfection.

Hi Eileen, this is a fantastic series, thank you. My question comes from trying to modify a classic award-winning recipe that starts with a box cake mix, so that I can make it all from scratch. It's the di Saronno Italian Sour Cream Cake. It calls for a butter cake mix-with-pudding in it. Then add two eggs, and two egg yolks. (Plus a few other items.) My problem came when I tried to start with a scratch yellow butter cake recipe from the Betty Crocker 40th Anniversary cookbook-- which called for three eggs-- plus the two yolks. My finished cake came out unevenly textured-- dense towards the bottom, more like baked custard. You've taught me that the extra yolks are included to absorb the 3/4 cup extra liquid (Amaretto, yum). So do you think the third egg caused this custard effect? Would I be better trying it with two eggs etc? Or might there also be a problem with all the powders' proportions? Thank you very much.

I hope based on your Article I didn't make a fatal mistake. Recipe called for 3 eggs separated, plus 4 more whites I misread and only added 1 more white for a total of 4 and I think it should have been seven whites. Cake feels heavy. Am I doomed??

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@Eileen Gray, Thanks for replying to my question. Made Martha Stewart's Zebra Cake. It ended up being very heavy, not a light and airy cake like I wanted, more of a pound cake (3lbs that is-lol). Frosting is delicious however! Fun recipe if you do it right...will try it again with 7 whites.

So, just to clarify your process, you're separating the eggs, whipping whites, and when you say folding that into batter, does that mean you have creamed the butter and yolks together, mixed them into the dry ingredients, and are now folding egg whites into that?

Well, this post is meant as more general information about how eggs work in cake batter. The process will vary based on the specific recipe. For my Vanilla Butter Cake I like to separate the eggs, mix the batter and then fold the whipped whites in at the end.

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Hi Eileen, thanks for making this post. I realized my cakes come out too sweet. I use the same amount of sugar as my friend but mine often yields a more sugary result. I saw from your post that eggs hold extra sugar, could it be that I'm using more eggs than necessary? or there's something else I'm not doing right? More Details, I use 500g butter (well creamed), 500g flour, 350g sugar and 12 eggs

What size eggs are you using? Large eggs. 12 large eggs would be about 550-600 grams. That's a little heavy. Your recipe is very close the the original pound cake recipe which uses equal weights of flour-butter-sugar-eggs. I can't say why your cakes differ from your friend's cakes without seeing both recipes and know how you measure your ingredients, what type of flour you use and what size eggs.When you nail the ratio of eggs to other ingredients in your baking recipes, your bakes can turn out looking and tasting like perfection. However, when you get it wrong, it can be a disaster so bad that you may be put off from baking for a while.

According to Kitchn, eggs play a crucial role in baking. They give your batter structure and stability, making your cakes rise beautifully high and strike the perfect balance of moist and tender. Eggs emulsify and thicken sauces and custards so that they aren't runny. Eggs are also responsible for adding a glaze to pastries and making them look shiny.

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You may think that if eggs are responsible for all that's good in your creations, surely adding more eggs will only do more good. However, that may not be the case! According to The Cake Blog, the number of eggs that you add to your cakes alters its properties, and that's not always for the best.

As explained by The Cake Blog, using too few eggs means that your cake won't hold together well, but using too many will result in a cake that is more dense, spongy, and rubbery than the lightweight cake that it should be. The site says that adding too many eggs will also give your cake a noticeably eggy flavor, which will make it taste more like a custard or a bread pudding and less like a cake.

Fine Cooking goes on to clarify that eggs and flour work as protein ingredients when baking. These two ingredients are responsible for holding your bakes together and giving them much-needed structure. When you don't use enough of these, your bakes might end up being way too tender and quite frankly, a runny mess. On the flip side, using too many eggs and flour means your creations will be way too tough and dry. 

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Another word of warning about eggs comes from Kitchn. The outlet also cautions against using too many egg whites. While using the right amount of whipped egg whites can make deliciously delicate cakes that rise flawlessly without the use of any baking soda for yeast, using too many can make your cakes extremely dry. So, if you think that the more eggs you add to your batter the better, you might want to think again!To help us prep for the upcoming holiday baking season, Summer Stone is here to share some insight on how eggs affect our cakes…

How many eggs exactly does it take to make a great cake? In a traditional 9-inch, two-layer American butter cake, four eggs seem to be the typical number found in most recipes, but other butter cake recipes call for anywhere from 2 to 6 eggs. So what number of eggs is really best?

First, let’s take a look at the role that eggs play in the characteristics of a cake. The inherent complexity of an egg, lends itself to a diverse number of roles in the cake’s final product. Here are the major duties eggs perform:

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Knowing all of the facts about the functions of eggs in cake, it seems like it would be easy to determine how adding or subtracting a couple of eggs from a recipe would affect