top of page

Aquafaba


An astounding egg white and whipping cream substitute that really works; it's the coolest trick ever! Turns out, aquafaba, the liquid that you drain out from a garbanzo bean can has a name! Go figure. Best of all, it works like magic. Whip it up like egg whites, and it forms stiff peaks- no kidding. We now use it for the foam on our holiday Tom and Jerry’s. No more worrying about raw eggs, or guests with egg allergies. Snow storm keeping me from getting to the store for eggs? Ha! I’ve got a can of beans in the cupboard!

Also an awesome, light substitute for whipped cream on berries, parfaits, hot cocoa, (add a little sugar, just like you would when whipping heavy cream), or add to waffle batter, mousses, frosting, even mayonnaise.

For baking, think pie meringues, pavlovas- they're a WOW!

And, anywhere you'd use beaten egg whites, try substituting with aquafaba. It's a vegan baker’s dream come true!

I decided to try it out on my recipe for meringue cookies. Voile, delicious! Though they do take longer to bake, it worked like a charm! Skip the chocolate chips, and you can use this method for pavlovas/mini berry dessert cups --shape large dollops into low nests with the back of a spoon, creating a welled indentation in the top to later hold the fruit. Aquafaba Meringue Cookies The aquafaba drained from one can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (room temperature) ½ tsp. cream of tartar ½ c. sugar ½ tsp. vanilla 1 c. chocolate chips, maybe a few more Preheat the oven to 200. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks; be patient, it will take about 6-10 minutes. With mixer still going, add sugar gradually, and beat about 2 minutes more; then briefly beat in vanilla. Gently fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. If you wish, you might just want to eat the whole bowl up right now, (nope, you won't get salmonella and yep, it’s that yummy), otherwise, continue with the baking… Scoop up large, heaping spoonfuls, and drop them one at a time onto the parchment paper, as you would cookie dough. Leave space between them for some expansion. Bake for about 2 hours. If you make them smaller, they might take just 1½ hours. They are done when they are no longer soft; they’ll feel like they have a crisp crust. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the cookies in there for about an hour longer to let them dry and begin to cool off. Remove from oven and cool completely, another 30-60 minutes or so, before storing in an air tight container (exposure to air will make them turn sticky). This made a big batch of large cookies- I think about 3 dozen. You could easily cut the recipe in half, and freeze the other half of the aquafaba for another day. Aquafaba needs to be at room temperature to whip up properly, so you’ll need to allow time to thaw and bring to room temperature before using.

For more info, there is an official aquafaba website. http://aquafaba.com/index.html “…Generally speaking, the ratio is 3 Tbsp of aquafaba to one egg, or 2 Tbsp. of aquafaba to one egg white. You want your aquafaba to be about the same consistency as egg white. If you are using aquafaba from a can of beans and it seems very watery, you can reduce it on the stove by 25% or 33% to get a slightly thicker consistency. Thicker is generally better, but you don't want it to end up goopy or solid, so don't reduce too much.”

Recipe created or adapted by Liz Talley, Urban Graze

All rights reserved©


RECENT

POSTS

bottom of page