Who will rise to the top? Egg vs. Apple Sauce

Who will rise to the top? Egg vs. Apple Sauce

Brownie Mix poured into baking pan.

Brownies containing apple sauce, in pan, out of oven.

Batter completely mixed. 

Combining of brownie ingredients for the batch containing apple sauce.

Side by side comparison of the two batches. The batch on the left was the traditional mix containing 2 large eggs, where the batch on the right contained a 1/2 cup of apple sauce instead of eggs. 

One of our course assignments requires a group experiment for the completion of a group project. Since my group decided to test the substitution of different ingredients in baked goods, in terms of their leavening quality, my second min-experiment was a sub experiment that tested the leavening difference in the substitution of apple sauce for eggs in brownies.

I hypothesized that if you substituted apple sauce for eggs in a brownie mix, then the brownies with the apple sauce would be thinner and have a more fluid consistency than brownies made with eggs, because the protein structure of eggs contributes to both the binding and leavening of the brownies. Whereas, apple sauce does not possess the same protein structures as eggs, and therefore would result in a more fluid consistency, and would not rise like the traditional mix containing eggs would.

My null hypothesis than would be that the substitution of apple sauce for eggs as a leavening/binding agent would have no effect.

The independent variable for this experiment was the binding/leavening agent—eggs vs. apple sauce.

The dependent variable for this experiment was the size of the brownies—height, length, and width.

The standard variables were, temperature baked at (350 degrees Fahrenheit), the duration of time  baked ( 30 minutes), the baking pan used (13” x 9”), and the brownie mix use (Pillsbury 13x9 family size milk chocolate brownie mix).

Ingredients included:

·         2 boxes of Pillsbury 13x9 family size milk chocolate brownie mix.

·         1 cup vegetable oil.

·         ½ cup water.

·         2 large eggs.

·         ½ cup great value apple sauce.

After I acquired all the ingredients for this mini-experiment at my local HyVee, I returned to my apartment and preheated my oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon completion of this, I began to make the control batch of brownies using the traditional ingredients and methods provided by the back of the boxed mix. This required me to mix 1 package of brownie mix, in a large bowl, with a ½ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup water, and 2 large eggs. Once all ingredients were combined in the bowl, the mix was then stirred for 1.5 minutes until all the dried mix had been worked into the batter, and very few large clumps remained. After completion of this, the mixture was then poured into a 13” x 9” pan that had been evenly sprayed with pan release spray for 10 seconds. Following this, the brownies were then placed in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Once the brownies had baked for 30 minutes, they were then removed from the oven, and immediately extracted from the baking pan. This required the pan be placed upside down, and the brownies were tapped out, by tapping the sides and bottom of the pan, in order to remove the sheet of brownies in one piece. Upon completion of this, the pan was washed, dried and re-coated with pan release spray, for the second batch of brownies.

The second batch of brownies was constructed the same way the first was, with the exception of the addition of eggs. While the first batch of brownies was baking, I researched how many cups of liquid 2 large eggs equaled. Upon my completion of research, I determined that 2 large eggs equated to a half cup of substitute. Thus, instead of adding 2 large eggs to the mixture, I instead added a ½ cup of great value apple sauce to the second brownie mix. Upon completion of the blending of brownie batter, the batter was then poured into the 13” x 9” brownie pan that had been used for the first batch of brownies, and then placed in the oven, where it baked for 30 minutes. Upon completion of the 30 minutes, the pan was removed from the oven, flipped upside down, tapped on both all sides and bottom of the pan, thus resulting in the immediate extraction of the brownies, in one piece.

Upon completion of this, the brownies were then measured using a standard 12” ruler. The measurements taken revealed that there was no change in the size of the brownies between the two batches. Both batches of brownies were 12 inches long, by 8.5 inches wide, and 0.5 inches tall. While the size of the brownies did not differ, the brownies that contained the apple sauce compared to eggs was both darker in color, as well as more porous looking. Porous in this context refers to the airy, sponge like look that was created, compared to the smooth, more solid texture created in the control batch. With that said, the null hypothesis was not rejected. As mentioned, there was a difference in appearance between the two matches of brownies, however since that characteristic was not quantifiable measurable, and not part of the original hypothesis, it was both not included in the chart, as well as did not allow for the rejection of the null hypothesis. The data collected is depicted in the chart below.

This chart compares the size of the two batches of brownies in inches. Both batches of brownies were measured in length, width, and height. As one can observe from the chart, there was no difference observed in terms of the size of the brownies, based on the measurements taken. 

One of the things that may have affected the data for this experiment was the fact that the brownies were not given a chance to rest/cool before they were extracted from the baking pan. This may have caused the brownies not to rise as much as they would have had they been allowed to finish baking by the heat that was still contained within them, had they been left in the pan. That is by immediately removing them from the pan, the brownies lost what appeared to be a significant amount of heat. In addition, it would have been more beneficial to use a cup cake pan instead of a large baking pan, as a cup cake pan would have allowed for multiple brownie cakes, thus allowing for a larger sample size. Furthermore, a very small amount of brownie mix each batch stuck to the bottom of the pans. Had a cup cake type pan been used, the amount of “wasted product” would have been diminished as the cakes would have been baked in individually lined cups that would have been easily removed from the pan. In addition, using a cup cake pan would have been more similar to the method our group plans to use in our group experiment.

This mini-experiment relates to my groups overall project, because we want to test the substitution of either an oil, binding agent, or leaven-er in our experiment with baked goods. And for our mini-experiments we all wanted to test this in a different baked good, as the substitution of one of these ingredients may effect other baked goods more than others, or even not at all. Thus, completing these mini-experiments would allow our group to figure out exactly what we want to test, and in what type of baked good.