Uses for leftover egg yolks (whites too)

I like to bake. A lot. Which means I use an extraordinary amount of eggs. Since my go-to cake icing is Italian meringue buttercream and since I prefer white cake to yellow, this means I’m frequently faced with a dilemma of what to do with the unused egg yolks. Luckily for me, Elazar Sontag of Serious Eats also experiences this conundrum and has assembled a lovely list of ways to use up extra egg yolks. 

Elazar’s first suggestion is to make a rich pasta dough, which you can either cut into noodles or use as the wrapping for ravioli, stuffed with – you guessed it – an egg yolk. He also recommends challah as another excellent way to use up a large quantity of yolks ( brioche would work as well). 

The world of desserts offers a plethora of ideas for using extra yolks, with an array of custards, ice creams, and puddings to keep you satiated. You could also make a French buttercream to frost any number of yolk-based cakes. One of my favorite uses for extra yolks is to make lemon curd, which freezes beautifully. 

If you have the opposite problem of too many egg whites, you can use the EYB Library to discover ways to use those as well. I’ve already mentioned Italian meringue buttercream and cake, but pavlova and macarons are terrific options too. Turning to savory options, there are lots of ways to use egg whites in appetizers, whether as a binder, batter ingredients, or to help breading stick to something deep fried and delicious. Unlike egg yolks, egg whites can be easily frozen – use an ice cube tray to freeze and portion all at once.