If you haven’t heard of aquafaba already, it’s simply the viscous water in which legume seeds such as chickpeas have been cooked. I discovered it years ago from a vegan friend in California. It is an excellent way of making really fluffy cakes instead of using eggs due to its ability to mimic the properties of egg whites in cooking.
You can buy it in Sainsbury’s from a great company called Oggs or make it at home and create your own cakes. Or you can buy aquafaba cakes themselves from Oggs and see just how delicious they taste.
If you want to try it at home you would need to soak chickpeas in water overnight and then completely cover them. You can make aquafaba by doing the same preparation using beans – but I prefer chickpeas. In the morning drain and rinse them out then add 2 cups of freshwater and put them in the pressure cooker until they are soft. You then need to drain out the cooking liquid, it should be a light brown colour and effervescent. Next (and this is why I buy mine from Oggs) you have to refrigerate it for 1 to 2 weeks in a tight container.
When I get a cake craving I want one straightaway, but if you can plan ahead you should always have some on the go in the fridge. I love to make vegan macaroons with it. Even though it looks brownish when you whip it, it lightens rapidly just like egg whites.
Most importantly you can’t taste the chickpeas in the final product, just like you can’t taste olive oil when it’s cooked. You can use it as an egg alternative in anything, but it works really efficiently in light dishes such as meringues and marshmallows. And it makes an amazing soufflé.
If you haven’t got a really fast hand it’s better to whisk it into stiff peaks in an electronic stand mixer. Vegan food enthusiast Goose Wohlt discovered it when he realised that the cooking liquid can replace egg white without the need for stabilizers and named it aquafaba which means water and bean in Latin.