Cooking devil's food cake or custard often leaves the cook with a number of leftover egg whites. These ideas will help you put them to good use.
Recipes for Using Up Egg Whites
Angel Food Cake
Traditionally, chefs would bake an angel food cake and a devil's food cake at the same time, using the whites in one cake and the yolks in another. Angel food cake is a light, fluffy white cake which is delicious served with cream and lemon curd. The average recipe, baked in a special deep tin, uses up a dozen egg whites. A half-quantity of the mixture will fill a regular 9-inch springform tin.
Pavlova
Perhaps the easiest way to use up a large quantity of egg whites is to make a pavlova. This Antipodean dessert is simply a large, flat meringue topped with cream and seasonal fruit. The recipe can easily be adapted to suit different quantities of egg white; miniature pavlovas can also be made, for a cute party treat.
Meringues
By beating your egg whites with sugar, large quantities of delicious, fluffy meringues can be made. Meringues cost next to nothing to bake, and can be dressed up with food colouring and a piping bag into a really special dessert. Best of all, meringues keep well in a tightly-covered container.
Forgotten Cookies
A delicious alternative to regular meringues, forgotten cookies are tiny meringues made with chocolate chips and/or chopped almonds folded through the mixture. The 'cookies' are dropped by teaspoonsful onto a greaseproof-lined baking sheet, and 'forgotten' in a turned-off oven overnight. The resulting morsels are tiny and delicious!
Lemon Meringue Pie
The traditional, from-scratch version of lemon meringue pie uses both whites and yolks—the latter contributing to the pie crust and curd filling. Using premade pie crust and tore-bought lemon curd, however, alows you to use up six or eight egg whites in a mile-high meringue topping. Allow approximately ¼ cup caster sugar per egg white.
Low-Carb Cooking
Many baking recipes can be adapted to a low-carb diet by replacing one egg with two egg whites. The product will be lighter, slightly less rich, and may not keep quite as well. Egg whites work well in many cake and muffin recipes. Similarly, slipping a few extra egg whites into an omelette, pancakes or scrambled eggs will not affect the taste, and help to 'lighten' the dish.
Light Cream
A beaten egg white, folded into 300 ml whipped cream, will produce a lighter, fluffier cream. The risk of salmonella from uncooked egg white is very small, but it pays to be aware of this, particularly when pregnant, immuno-compromised, sick or elderly people may be eating the cream.
Sorbets
Some sorbet recipes contain egg whites.
Using Egg Whites as a Glaze
A wonderful Christmas or party treat can be made by moistening almonds in lightly-beaten egg whites, rolling the nuts in cinnamon sugar and baking until dry. Lightly beaten with a fork and mixed with a teaspoon of water, egg white makes a light, clear glaze for biscuits and breads. Bread in particular will take on a slight sheen if brushed with egg white before cooking.
Other Ideas for Using Up Egg Whites
If cooking isn't your thing, try these ideas.
Egg White Facial Masque
Break the egg white up with a fork and spread all over your face. Leave for ten minutes or until you feel the egg white drying—it will create a tightening sensation. Rinse off.
Making Mohawks with Egg Whites
Egg whites can be used as 'glue' to hold mohawks or fauxhawks in place. Beat the whites until stiff peaks form, comb liberally through your hair and let dry. Egg whites will wash out with a few shampoos.
Egg Whites as Craft Glue
Along the same principle, egg white can be used to glue lightweight materials such as paper together for craft projects.
See also Using Up Leftover Egg Yolks and Creative Frugal Uses for Eggshells.
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