How Different Parts of an Egg Affect Cheesecake’s Density

Scientific Paper by Alli Stanley and Marisol Silva

Abstract
Using a whole egg, egg yolk, or egg white significantly changes the density and texture of
pastries. In our experiment, we wanted to find out exactly how much the type of egg would
affect a simple cheesecake recipe. To the best of our ability, we replicated a vanilla cheesecake
recipe altering only the form in which the egg was in. The original recipe called for five whole
eggs so we decided to make two other batches incorporating five egg yolks into one batter and
five egg whites into another batter. We measured the height and radius of each cheesecake to
find its volume. After that, we conducted a blind taste test. We conducted this taste test to
measure the density of our 3 cheesecakes. We offered them to try each cheesecake without
commenting anything that would persuade them into deciding which one was their favorite. We
did have a flaw in our experiment which was that one of the cheesecakes was raw so we had to
warn our taste testers which one it was so they wouldn’t consume too much of it and get sick.
We asked them to fill out a survey and, based on the results of that survey we found that the
cheesecake with egg whites was the densest and people preferred its creamy texture. Our
quantitative results also showed that the cheesecake with egg whites had more volume and
density.

Key Terms: cheesecake, whole egg, egg yolk, egg white, density, texture, creamy, taste test

Introduction
In an article titled, “The History of Cheesecake and Cream Cheese”, author Mary Bellis stated
that Historians believe cheesecake originated in ancient Greece and during the first olympic
games, cheesecake was served to the athletes. Cheesecake was spread from Greece all
across Europe and the recipes continued to spread to different countries through immigrants.
The recipe has altered throughout time, and one important change in ingredients that made
cheesecake known for its creaminess is cream cheese. In 1872, American dairyman William
Lawrence was trying to reproduce a French cheese called Neufchatel but instead developed a
method to create cream cheese.

Cheesecake can be light and smooth while others can be made more creamy and dense. We
conducted this experiment to find out which form of an egg would create a dense and creamy
texture. Eggs play a big role in baking as they bind all the ingredients together adding to its
thickness and moisture. When heat is added, the raw egg proteins unwind and link together
making them loosely link together creating a thick but smooth texture. If overcooked, the protein
shrinks and the cake drys out, cracking the cheesecake. Whole eggs balance both the fat and
protein making a cake not too dense or creamy. Egg yolks noticeably change the color of a
cheesecake giving it a golden tone to it. Egg yolks add moisturizing fat, creating a smooth and
creamy texture. Egg whites contain protein molecules that are able to stretch, and when they
are whisked, the molecules are able to spread out more, making it denser. We think that using
five egg whites will result in a more creamy and denser cheesecake. Egg whites are 90% water,
and the other 10% is all protein, which increases the total amount of water content in the recipe.
Egg whites are meant to protect the yolk, so the whites are meant to be thick. Thickening occurs
when raw egg proteins unwind and link together which is what happens when eggs cook.

Methods
The goal of this experiment was to create a dense cheesecake and in order to achieve this, we
decided to manipulate the form in which we incorporated the eggs in the batter. The original
recipe called for the following:

4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs

Being cautious of the baking hazards, we carefully replicated this simple recipe three times only
changing two batters. The one batter was just five egg yolks and the other one was five egg
whites. Measuring volume from this unique shape would be difficult so we decided to do some
math and estimate a few measurements. The first thing we did was measure the radius of the
top of the cheesecake and the bottom of it.

The top radius of the cheesecakes was 22 centimeters and the bottom radius was 16.5
centimeters. We then had added them together and divide it by two. After that, we had to
measure the height of each cheesecake but since the tops were uneven, we had to measure
the highest point on the cheesecake and state in our results that that was the height all
throughout. The table below shows what the height was for each cheesecake.
 Table 1

Form of egg Height of cheesecake (cm)

Egg yolk 7.6

Whole egg 6.9

Egg white 8.8

With the radius and height measurements, we used the formula πR​2​Hto find what the volume
was for each.. We plugged the radius and height for each cheesecake and calculated the
volume. Another way we decided to measure density and texture was by allowing people to
sample our three cheesecakes and instructing them to fill out a survey asking for their opinions,
using a blind taste test. The first question was asking what their favorite cheesecake was and
why. Then we asked them wich cheesecake, out of the three, had the best texture and which
out of the three was the densest.

Results
In the survey, we asked 14 people which cheesecake (cheesecake A being 5 yolks, cheesecake
B being five whole eggs, and cheesecake C being five egg whites) was their favorite, which was
the densest, and which cheesecake had the best texture.

Chart 1

In the data we collected from the survey, cheesecake C was voted the favorite by nine people
which is the 64.3% as seen in Data Table 1. Five people voted cheesecake B as their favorite
which is 35.7%. This totaled up the 14 people that took our survey, meaning that no one voted
cheesecake A as their favorite.
Chart 2

Chart 2 shows that Cheesecake C was the most dense, while cheesecake A was the least
dense.

Chart 3

Quantitative Results
Cheesecake A - 8,847.58 mL
Cheesecake B - 8,032.68 mL
Cheesecake C - 10,244.68 mL
Discussion
The use of eggs plays a very crucial role in the end result of cheesecake. The egg is what
modifies the texture and flavor, decides if the cheesecake is dense or fluffy, and glues all of the
ingredients together. Unfortunately, in our experiment, we had a setback, cheesecake A was
raw. We did not realize that each of these cheesecakes was going to take different cooking
times. Without knowing, we cooked each of these cakes within the same time of each other.
Now obvious, it would have taken more time for each cheesecake to bake because we are
cooking different forms of an egg. Cheesecake A needed more time (baking time: 24 minutes),
cheesecake B was perfectly cooked (baking time: 35 minutes) and cheesecake C was a bit
overcooked (baking time: 25 minutes.) We know cheesecake C was overcooked because it had
cracks, and a perfectly baked cheesecake is supposed to have a smooth surface and have a
jiggly middle.

Unfortunately, we were also unable to measure the exact density of each cake because we did
not have a measure to do so. Instead, we decided to create a less effective way of measuring
density, a taste test. If cheesecake A had cooked, we believe it would have been denser than
cheesecake C, according to our research. But because it wasn’t able to fully cook, we weren't
able to see if our hypothesis was correct. The drying effects of the whites make the cheesecake
batter denser, while the yolks makes the batter airier.

Conclusion
As found in our results, cheesecake C was voted as the favorite, When asked to explain why a
lot of people described it as creamy and fluffy. Its texture and density came from the egg whites
and something that we did not intend on testing but noticed was how the egg whites gave the
cheesecake a light color compared to the others. If you are going for a more smooth and runny
cheesecake, you should use egg yolks. If you are going for a more airy and creamy
cheesecake, then use egg whites. If you want something more in between dense and airy, then
use whole eggs. This experiment will answer people's aspiring questions when they want to
make the creamiest, densest cheesecake. If they want to know if the form of an egg can alter
the creaminess/density of their cheesecake batter, they can use our experiment for the answer.
An aspiring cook could use this information to know how that using 5 egg yolks instead of whole
eggs will take much longer than a regular recipe but will make the batter dense and more
creamy.