What to use instead of egg yolks
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Emulsifier holding fat and water together (aioli, hollandaise, carbonara)
Yolk lecithin and its proteins coat each fat droplet so it stays suspended in the water phase. One yolk will carry about a cup of oil before it runs out of coverage and the sauce breaks.
Whole eggsRan out
2 whole eggs per 3 yolks
The white adds water and sets firmer over heat, so carbonara scrambles more readily and aioli comes out looser and paler.
Aquafaba, the liquid from a tin of chickpeasPlant-based
3 tbsp aquafaba will emulsify 3/4 cup oil, in place of 1 yolk
Whiter, thinner and with none of the richness or yellow. It holds fine but needs more mustard and salt to taste of anything.
Dijon mustard as the whole emulsifierEgg-free
1 tsp mustard per 1/4 cup oil
Holds a vinaigrette all day but caps out at small volumes; it will not carry a cup of oil into a mayonnaise.
Blended silken tofu in a cold saucePlant-based
1/4 cup silken tofu per yolk
Sets soft and faintly grainy and weeps water after a day. Fine in a pourable dressing; it will collapse if you try to pipe it.
What doesn't work: Cornstarch to hold a hollandaise together. Starch thickens the water so the sauce looks right for a minute, but nothing is coating the butterfat; it still separates, and now it separates into a pudding.
Setting a custard (creme brulee, pastry cream, pasteis de nata)
Yolk proteins unfold and link into a mesh somewhere between 65 and 70 C, trapping the milk around them. That is what turns liquid cream into something a spoon stands in, with no starch involved.
Whole eggsRan out
1 whole egg per 2 yolks
Sets firmer and slightly rubbery and tastes eggier. Acceptable in flan, wrong in creme brulee.
Cornstarch, for a stovetop pastry creamEgg-free
2 tbsp cornstarch per 1 cup milk
Sets on the hob rather than in the oven, opaque and a little chalky on the tongue. It will not bake and it will not brulee.
Full-fat coconut milk plus cornstarchDairy-free
1 cup coconut milk + 2 tbsp cornstarch per 1 cup dairy custard base
Sets soft and tastes distinctly of coconut. It splits if you take it past a bare simmer.
What doesn't work: Egg whites in place of yolks in a baked custard. Whites set harder and at a lower temperature, so the custard goes from liquid to squeaky and weeping in about a minute of oven time, with none of the fat that made it smooth.
Richness and colour in pasta dough, ice cream base or enriched bread
Yolk is roughly a third fat, and that fat coats starch and gluten, which is what keeps an enriched dough soft and an ice cream base from freezing hard.
Softened butter or olive oil in an enriched doughRan out
1 tbsp fat per yolk
Softens the crumb the same way, but with no emulsifier the dough is greasier to handle and the colour stays pale.
Coconut cream in a frozen baseDairy-free
1/4 cup coconut cream per yolk
Freezes softer at first because of the fat, then ices up faster in the freezer without the yolk holding the water.
Extra-fine semolina in pasta doughEgg-free
replace 1/4 of the flour with semolina and add 1 tbsp water per yolk removed
Firmer, chewier and paler, closer to a Southern Italian dough. No richness, but it holds a bite better in a light sauce.
What doesn't work: Extra whole eggs to make a pasta dough richer. Every whole egg brings white, which is water plus setting protein, so the dough gets tougher and drier the more you add. That is the opposite of what the yolks were doing.
Leftover whites keep a week refrigerated and freeze indefinitely. Label the container with the count or you will never use them.