All Rise…

The egg.

What do you really know about it? It has whites. It has a yolk. And it makes a mean breakfast or killer dessert.

But its most important property, to me at least, remained shrouded in mystery after I racked my brain for the answer, and even consulted the Joy of Cooking bible – which had nada on the food science front.

How do eggs make baked goods rise?

Think hard. Not sure, are you?

Apparently the key is protein. When you incorporate air into eggs by whisking, you create bubbles. When you cook the batter, the air expands, making (the cake) rise. The protein in the egg whites solidifies and creates a stable structure that more or less holds its shape after the cooking is complete and the item cools. If you add a leavener like baking powder, it releases CO₂, creating even more lovely craters and a light, fluffy texture in the end result.

Why did I have eggs on the brain? One of my most favorite pancake recipes uses eggs plus just three more ingredients to make magic. Mixed in a blender, it’s very simple, very elegant, and tastes delicious with a generous squeeze of lemon and spoonful of powdered sugar.

German Pancake
- serves 2 -

1/8 cup butter
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
¾ cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter in a 2-3 quart ceramic baking or soufflé dish just until it starts to sizzle. In the meantime, blend the 3 eggs in the blender on high for one minute. Add the milk and flour to the eggs and blend all together for 30 seconds.

Pour the batter into the hot butter (scrape down the sides of the blender to get all the batter!). Bake 25-30 minutes until the pancake is puffed, golden brown, and a little crispy around the edges. Let it cool a few minutes and then cut into two pieces. Serve it warm with lemon wedges and powdered sugar.

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