Using Up Leftover Egg Yolks
Recipe, Beauty and Craft Ideas to Avoid Wasting Separated Eggs
Sep 22, 2008
Baking a pavlova or meringues can leave a cook with lots of extra egg yolks. Yolks will keep, covered, in the fridge for three days. If unbroken, gently cover the yolk with cold water to prevent the surface of the yolk from coagulating.
Recipes to Use Up Leftover Egg Yolks
Devil's Food Cake and Sponge Cakes
Traditionally, angel food cake and devil's food cake were baked together. The former used a dozen egg whites to produce a light, fluffy cake; the latter used the yolks to make a dense, rich chocolatey cake. Nowadays many devil's food cake recipes incorporate the whole egg; however, it is worth hunting through an old recipe book to find a traditional recipe. Otherwise, some sponge cake recipes use only the yolks of eggs.
Baked Custards and Custard Sauces
Custard made from scratch is far tastier than custard made with custard powder. The method is simple: simply whisk a few egg yolks together with a little sugar and cornflour, and stir over low heat while adding milk or cream. Traditional custard recipes include zabaglione, custard squares, custard tarts, creme brulee, Spanish flan and custard filling for cream puffs.
Homemade Ice Cream
Yolk-rich custard can also be used as the base for a rich homemade ice cream.
Baked custards, such as crème brulee and Spanish flan, are also excellent ways to use up yolks. If the recipe calls for whole eggs, simply use two yolks for every egg, and your custard will be richer and creamier as a result.
Lemon Curd
Homemade lemon or orange curd is best made with egg yolks rather than whole eggs, to avoid finding bits of cooked white in the mixture.
Mayonnaise
Homemade mayonnaise is cheap to make, containing only egg yolk, salt and oil. Homemade hollandaise sauce and aioli also contain egg yolks.
Other Ways to Use Up Egg Yolks
Egg Yolk Tempera Painting
Botticelli's Birth of Venus was painted using an egg-yolk based paint! Mix equal amounts of egg yolk and water, and then add small amounts of pigment. Egg tempera is suitable for painting on wood, cloth and parchment, and produces very clear, easily-altered colours.
Egg Yolk Shampoo
Whisk a few egg yolks and apply them to your hair and scalp, combing through in order to achieve full coverage. Leave the yolks for a few minutes, then rinse out using cold water. This method gives hair a natural protein treatment, as well as helping to prevent dandruff due to the sulfur component of egg yolks. Even eating egg yolks is considered good for hair—if you're worried about cholesterol, feed the yolks to your dog or cat to give them a shiny coat.
Egg Yolk Facial Masque
Egg yolks contain vitamin A, which is used in many skincare products designed to target acne. To use egg yolks as a masque, simply break up the yolks with a fork and spread over your face and neck. Leave to dry and then rinse off with cool water.
See also Using Up Leftover Egg Whites and Creative Frugal Uses for Eggshells.
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