Protein networks in vegan cakes

Question

I have read that one important role of eggs in cakes is to add proteins that denature with heat and then link together giving the cake structure. Given that proteins are so varied and abundant in nature, I was wondering whether there are vegan sources of protein that can perform the same function. Has anyone experimented systematically with this?

EDIT: This is distinct from the question of whether there are vegan egg substitutes that can be used in cakes. Since eggs do multiple things to cakes and since these roles are emphasized more or less depending on the cake, there is not going to be a single answer to "what is a good egg substitute for cakes?". I asked this question to try to learn specifically about whether there are ways to mimic the protein network that eggs create in cakes using vegan proteins.

Answer 1

Legume flours (eg soy, chickpea, lentil flour) match that role well - they are used in traditional (eg indian) eggless recipes as texture-enhancing binders, or even on their own - pakora and cheela batters are made with a lot of chickpea flour for that purpose.

Answer 2

Most of the protein structure in cake is due to gluten, from the wheat flour.

A cake is ideally more tender than bread (which is well-kneaded to develop strong gluten networks), but even low-protein cake flour will form some structure from its gluten.

One time-tested eggless version is "wacky cake", which uses vinegar for leavening and is therefore relying entirely on flour for its structure. (It works surprisingly well -- in some cases better than recipes I've tried that do use eggs.)

I am speculating, although I have not tested it or found a reference, that using an all-purpose flour or even bread flour would make a more successful eggless cake than cake flour would.

_{The Science of Cake (on The Guardian blog) has some more detail about the role different ingredients play in a "traditional" recipe (i.e., one that includes eggs).}

Answer 3

You could substitute the egg with apple sauce. I have tried that before and it worked well. They say you should substitute each egg in a cake recipe with 1/3 cup of applesauce. For me this is always trail and error but you could use it as a rule of thumb. But make sure that you strain most of the excess liquid of the apple sauce before you ad it, otherwise you will have too much liquid in your dough.