Eggs – What’s the egg for in this no-bake fridge cake and can I leave it out

eggs

I remember making these as a kid, they were quick and easy to make. I'd like to make some now, but there's an uncooked egg in the recipe and I'm pregnant.

I don't really understand what the egg is for here if it's unbaked. Is it just to bind everything together? Can I leave it out or substitute something else?

I have googled for other recipes and they all contain raw egg.

Link: http://freerecipehub.blogspot.co.za/2011/03/chocolate-fridge-cake.html

Recipe:

250g margarine
1 egg 2 tblsp milk
2 tblsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla essence
500g icing sugar
1 packet marie biscuits

Method Melt the margarine. Beat the egg, milk, cocoa, vanilla, icing
sugar with the melted margarine together. Break up the marie biscuits
and place in a greased dish then pour over chocolate mix. Leave to set
in fridge.

Best Answer

The egg (the egg yolk actually) acts as an emulsifier which allows you to get a smooth blend of the margarine and the milk. Without it, the margarine would float on top during the cooling period. (The proteins in the egg might also help in trapping some air bubbles.)

More technical, what's actually acting as the emulsifier is the lecithin in the egg yolk. But I have no idea if it's possible to replace the egg with e.g. soy lecithin (and perhaps some extra milk and margarine)

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