Urgent cake question...

[Princess ConsuelaB]

So, let's say it's your dh's birthday and you're totally flat broke but you want to bake him a cake before he gets home from work, and let's say the cake calls for 5 eggs(separated, whites beaten stiff) and you only have 4 eggs...how bad would that be?

Also let's say it's Pioneer Woman's tres leches cake and you don't have any condensed milk but you do have some coconut milk you could sweeten...how bad would that be?

Let's also say you have no butter or shortening in the house and you can't go to the $tore for a few days, so most other types of cake are undo-able, which is why you want to make this cake since it calls for neither.

Will this be a disaster?

If so do you have any suggestions?

[amcal]

I think the sweetened condensed milk / sweetened coconut milk sub will be fine - but, I would think you're going to need to boil it down until it's a thicker syrup.

The eggs.... can you borrow one egg from a neighbor? If not, I don't think it's a big issue. It will make the cake a bit denser but, one less egg shouldn't make a huge difference.

[DevaMajka]

I don't know about the answers to your questions, but there's a cake called crazy mixed up cake that doesn't need eggs, butter, or shortening. Just in case you decide to go another route.

[punkrockmomma]

Originally Posted by amcal

I think the sweetened condensed milk / sweetened coconut milk sub will be fine - but, I would think you're going to need to boil it down until it's a thicker syrup.

The eggs.... can you borrow one egg from a neighbor? If not, I don't think it's a big issue. It will make the cake a bit denser but, one less egg shouldn't make a huge difference.

I agree with both of these answers. Because you're reducing the eggs, I would also recommend baking it in a slightly smaller pan maybe, that way it will rise to the correct height, and it won't be as thin and dense. This is what I would do anyway.
Make sure to add the extra sugar to the coconut milk, or the cake won't turn out right. Sugar does more in a cake then just sweeten it, it also makes it tender. I think the coconut milk reduced to thicken it, and adding the extra sugar is a great idea (the sugar will help to thicken it too), and will add a really nice flavor to the cake. I could see some canned pineapple going really well in a cake like that. Yummy!

[KristyDi]

Could you half the recipe and either make a smaller cake or cupcakes, then you'd only need 2 eggs. I think the sweetened coconut milk could work too maybe reduce it by half.

or if you have dry milk you can use this for the sweetened condensed milk

1 c. plus 2 tbsp. dry milk
1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar

Mix dry milk and water. Set in pan of hot water and add sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. This is equal to one can of sweetened condensed milk.

[dachshundqueen]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

Could you half the recipe and either make a smaller cake or cupcakes, then you'd only need 2 eggs. I think the sweetened coconut milk could work too maybe reduce it by half.

or if you have dry milk you can use this for the sweetened condensed milk

1 c. plus 2 tbsp. dry milk
1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar

Mix dry milk and water. Set in pan of hot water and add sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. This is equal to one can of sweetened condensed milk.

This is brilliant. I despise the cost of sweetened condensed milk even with a coupon.

Liz

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Thanks everyone!

I should have explained, the coconut/condensed milk get's poured over the "poked" cake after it's baked. There is sugar in the cake itself so the texture shouldn't be affected, I just wasn't sure if it would taste alright. It's this recipe:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...s-leches-cake/

(Sorry, I don't know how to do that thing where you put the link in one word )I would definitely boil the coconut milk with the sugar -but not too much because I don't have the evaporated milk it's mixed with either lol. I can't really borrow any eggs though.

So it sounds like with a smaller pan it should probably work. I just don't want to use up my ingredients and have it not work out and wind up with nutt'n Maybe I should just cut it in half like a pp suggested. I'm a pretty good cook but baking is so touchy.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

I don't know about the answers to your questions, but there's a cake called crazy mixed up cake that doesn't need eggs, butter, or shortening. Just in case you decide to go another route.

Oh nifty! I do have cocoa. I don't have any brown sugar however. I could sub white+honey in that recipe though. Hmm...choices...

[Ola_]

I agree to boil the coconut milk a bit to thicken it, since the milk that's poured on top is supposed to be a bit on the syrupy side. I think 1 less egg should work fine.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Originally Posted by punkrockmomma

I could see some canned pineapple going really well in a cake like that. Yummy!

That's what I thought too! But when I looked I found I was also out of canned pineapple!

[homemademom]

Here are some egg subs: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/eggsub.html

[punkrockmomma]

Please let us know how it turned out!

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Well I erred on the side of caution and went with DevaMajka's suggestion of the crazy mixed up cake; I had never heard of these, ever. I subbed white sugar for brown and cut the ap flour in half with whole wheat pastry(so I had enough ap flour left also batter some lovely cod I pulled out of the freezer for dinner). Then I dug around and found I had a can of cherry pie filling I didn't remember buying and topped the cake with that(chocolate-cherry is his favorite). It came out awesome! We couldn't believe it didn't have any eggs or butter! Then I used the coconut milk to make a yummy coffee drink with brandy to go with the cake(a happy accident when I ran out of half&half)

I still plan on trying the tres leches with coconut milk though, because now it sounds good to me In the meanwhile money rained on us a day early so I'm going to shopping today! (I went to mix up some tartar sauce for the fish last night and ran out of mayonnaise and pickles )