Removing that eggy smell from cakes

Question

I've been baking for not that long now and I usually peruse the web and the hundreds of books I have at home before I attempt a recipe. However there is one thing I am just not able to get down right.

Whenever a cake or something involving eggs is baked, I get a really strong eggy smell that puts me off. Even after it has cooled down, the egg smell and taste remains. But I don't notice this in cakes from stores or bakeries. I don't know what to do to neutralize this, or is it completely normal?

I use brown farm fresh eggs that aren't pumped full of stuff (at least that's what they say on the packaging).

Update: I will try to figure out what the cheap eggs taste like in the next cake that i bake. Furthermore, i will also compare with results i obtain from a new professional line oven that i am purchasing soon. One of these is the culprit, since whenever i eat baked goods elsewhere this issue is rarely experienced.

Answer 1

It is normal that eggs smell of eggs, yes. Some people are just more sensitive to certain smells than others and detect them in smaller amounts, and sometimes all people perceive a smell with equal strength, but a few will have a negative reaction to a smell commonly regarded as pleasant.

If you react with unusual aversion to the smell of baked eggs, there is nothing you can do about it. If you are indeed using standard recipes from widespread books, they probably smell OK to the general public.

There is no way to remove the smell of eggs. But you can do two things:

• avoid overcooking the eggs. When somebody finds the eggs smell unpleasant, they are usually reacting to the sulfur compounds egg proteins form under high temperatures. This is not a universal solution, because a properly baked cake has been exposed to temperatures high enough to form lots of these compounds. But in dishes which can be overcooked, such as custards or boiled eggs, less cooking is usually much better smellwise.
• choose recipes with less eggs. This will mean that you will have to restrict your cake eating habits a lot. Genoise is probably completely out of the question, but if your sensitivity also shows at pound cake and similar, then there aren't many traditional types you can bake. It is possible that whites-only or yolks-only cake types won't trigger your problem, but if both do, you will possibly have to start replacing some egg in normal recipes. Sadly, eggs are very important for the texture of a cake, which means that substitutes only work in certain types of cake (pound cake, sponge cake) and even then, the larger the proportion of substitute to egg, the worse the final texture. But it may be worth it, if it lets you enjoy cakes you wouldn't eat when made with eggs.

Update after comment

If you don't smell this in bakery cakes, there are still a few possible explanations:

• the sensitivity theory is right, and the bakeries in your area rely on some kind of product different than fresh eggs, such as powdered eggs. The processing used in industry ingredients could change eggs in some way which removes the components which cause your sensitivity. This should be easy to test: if you can eat homemade cake with fresh eggs, it is not the cause.
• the smell compound to which you react could be something entirely different from the sulfur compounds always present in eggs. You said that you are buying fresh farm eggs. But the point is that fresh heirloom products are normally much more chemically diverse than mass-produced food. It is especially noticeable in fruit and vegetables, but I guess that chickens held under less-than-optimal conditions and fed standardized food mix will produce eggs which have much less exotic trace compounds than those of chickens raised on small farms under sunlight. You could try baking with the cheapest supermarket eggs and see if this solves the problem for you.
• maybe my sensitivity theory is completely wrong, and you are indeed doing something unusual to the cake. As mentioned above, overcooking is a suspect. If your oven is hotter than the dial shows (very common), you may be consistently overcooking every single cake. Try inserting a roasting thermometer into your cake and yanking it out as soon as it reaches 90 Celsius. It might have a slightly floury taste, but at least you will know if it is the smell of overcooked egg or something else which bothers you.

Answer 2

Hi i have the same problem and the only way to cut this smell is by adding lemon and orange zest to the batter. Also you can try a table spoon of whiskey or cognac.

Answer 3

There's nothing wrong, it's perfectly natural for cakes that have eggs as an ingredient to smell of eggs. If you have a problem with egg smells then don't use egg. There are egg-free recipes out there, plenty of them work just fine.

The other option is to use ingredients with strong aromas to overpower the egg. That could be spices like cinnamon and cloves, or alternatively citrus as in a lemon cake.

You could I suppose experiment using egg whites instead of whole eggs and see whether that works for you, I can't be sure it is a solution tough.

Answer 4

When I began baking, I initially had the same problem. But after several attempts at creating a cake, I eventually rid my cakes of that eggy smell.

I believe the secret lies in properly beating the eggs. If the eggs are not well beaten into the batter, they will retain the smell of cooked eggs. It probably has something to do with the incorporation of the eggs into the mix.

This is just my opinion on the matter and it is based entirely on my own experience.

Answer 5

There is a very simple trick to remove the Yolk smell... The smell itself is not from the yolk but from the film that keep the yolk together in its form... So simply put the yolk on a strainer and get rid of that stinky skin... the smell will go 95% away...

Answer 6

Removing the chalaza of the egg (the white strand attached to the egg - it's about an inch or so in length) has worked for me. I use egg mask for hair treatment and often times my hair used to have that egg smell even after shampooing twice. After removing the eye, there is no smell of egg in the hair whatsoever. It has worked for me in pound cake also where I removed the eye and added some lemon zest. Do try removing the eye and adding fruity flavors such as orange zest.

Answer 7

where i am from they remove the little white gellatinous material that attaches to the yolk to reduce the eggie smell. They call this the "eye". Try that and see the difference.

Answer 8

Do use beater to beat the batter. It will definitely reduce the egg smell in your cake. I have been using beater for cakes and it works.

Answer 9

Honey will help, and works in any flavour of cake. You can use vanilla extract in vanilla cakes.

Answer 10

I have noticed several times that if I inadvertently omit the salt from homemade pancakes, they taste noticeably eggy. My husband agrees.

Answer 11

use some drops of vanilla essence. your smelly egg issue will be completely resolved!

if you want to do eggless baking altogether, you can use full cream yoghurt instead of eggs. the fluffy, lightness will be retained.

Answer 12

Egg smell is more evident in pound cakes where the ratio of eggs used is higher. In layered cakes it is less as fats and eggs are in nearly equal proportion. Besides a combination of two essences where vanilla is common and any other like mixed fruit, almond or other as per requirement can be used. Sugar quantity is increased and milk powder is added, thus eliminating the egg smell.

Answer 13

Simply use lemon, lime or orange juice and/or rind. Use a quarter teaspoon of rind and a teaspoon of juice of any one per 3 eggs (make sure to remove the white eyes). In order to experiment with flavour you may use different combinations of the fruits for multiples of 3 eggs. Use only the coloured part of the peel, do not use the white part. It would help greatly to get a zester.

Answer 14

I found that interesting about the yolk sac and the eye, the eggy smell of cake also bothers me so I will try removing it next time, another thought you might want to watch, if you are using butter make sure it is room temperature or the eggs won't incorporate properly when you mix and it might look kinda curdled, I know I'm often impatient and use butter and eggs straight from the fridge and I think this is why the eggy taste is worse

Answer 15

I have had the same problem and suggest adding some strong flavors to your cake. You can use rose water, lemon or orange peel, chocolate (powdered or melted), vanilla (even large amounts won't make the cake bitter), cinnamon. Use what you prefer, according to your taste, but just enough so that you no longer smell the egg. Adding sugar to egg whites while whipping them also helps, as does adding the cream/milk to the batter.

Answer 16

I believe two things can be done about the eggy smell. First, I have never really liked eggs, so what I do is to use them in limited quantity when baking. Second, after you are done beating your butter and sugar together, add your eggs, whisk together, and then add your milk. I find that milk at this stage eliminates the smell of the eggs used. Try this method and see if it works for you.

Answer 17

Just don't use egg. Milled Flax seed mixed with water will be an alternative that you can use in most cases. I am allergic to eggs and I often bake cakes with this alternative and it's perfect for binding AND you won't get that eggy smell.
1 tablespoon of milled or ground flaxseed: 3 tablespoons of water is usually equivalent to one chicken egg.

Answer 18

Adding a few drops of lemon juice will remove any odourof eggs or baking ppowder.

Answer 19

The answer is not to use an electric oven. I am a food teacher and we have both gas and electric ovens in my classroom. All cakes were made with the same ingredients, the ones baked in the electric ovens smelled eggy whilst the gas oven cakes did not. I have had the same problem at home when I had an electric oven. Switched to gas and the problem disappeared :)

Answer 20

My wife always closes windows to prevent fresh air streaming in the flat and specially the kitchen. And surprisingly it really helps to get rid of eggy smell or taste in any dish or cake or bread containing eggs. Try it and I am sure you will be surprised. Even when emptying dish washing machine, she closes all windows, otherwise all the disheswhich were in contact with eggs get eggy smell which is very annoying. Bakeries have no window open while baking ! I have no explanation for that but it is the solution.

Answer 21

If you beat egg whites separately and egg yellow and sugar separately and followed by flour, I Am sure you will not get an egg smell in your cake. After beating both you have to combine both and fold. I find this is the best way.