I have read that one important role of eggs in cakes is to add proteins that denature with heat and then link together giving the cake structure. Given that proteins are so varied and abundant in nature, I was wondering whether there are vegan sources of protein that can perform the same function. Has anyone experimented systematically with this?
EDIT: This is distinct from the question of whether there are vegan egg substitutes that can be used in cakes. Since eggs do multiple things to cakes and since these roles are emphasized more or less depending on the cake, there is not going to be a single answer to "what is a good egg substitute for cakes?". I asked this question to try to learn specifically about whether there are ways to mimic the protein network that eggs create in cakes using vegan proteins.
Best Answer
Legume flours (eg soy, chickpea, lentil flour) match that role well - they are used in traditional (eg indian) eggless recipes as texture-enhancing binders, or even on their own - pakora and cheela batters are made with a lot of chickpea flour for that purpose.