My sister just got back from a holiday luncheon. At the dessert buffet, gloated a scrumptious looking chocolate sheet cake. One made, with FIFTY eggs. K. is always tempted to try chocolate cakes in order to compare / contrast them, with the ones I bake in our kitchen. The cake looked very well put together. Beautifully iced, and decorated. Nary a crumb had fallen from its bulk.

Just as my sister was about to cut herself a square, a doctor she knows, grabbed her arm. 'Don't eat that.'

'Why not?'

'Just, don't.'

'Why?'

'That cake's got fifty eggs, in it. That's why.'

Fifty eggs??? That's right, fellow bakers. FIFTY eggs. It's an old, Balkan recipe . . . a concoction with which a number of guests at the luncheon, had become acquainted.

It had to be solid, as mortar. Can you IMAGINE breaking fifty eggs, for one cake?? Don't tell me no shells got in there . . . maybe even a few cartons. Nonetheless, the cake was a popular addition to the dessert table; very little left by the time my sister exited the party. Angioplasty . . . comin' up! Anyone want the recipe??

So??? How bad could a teensy little piece be? It wasn't as if it were a 50 egg cheese omelette cooked in a stick of butter. With bacon on the side ;0

Even so, Colonia . . . the doctor said 'no.' I think I'd be afraid even to taste this one.

the doctor could have been joking..... unless your sister looked like she was going to consume a dozen eggs' worth

no joke . . . and after hearing the doctor's order . . . K. had no desire to taste the merchandise. Watch out for shells . . .

It sounds like it was one of those flourless chocolate cakes that are more like brownies. Since it was a sheet cake, it was very big, no doubt. If it was the equivalent of 10 normal cakes, then that would be 5 egg yolks per cake. Not too bad, really. That doctor, like most, knows little about nutrition. Egg yolks aren't bad for you. They are a very good source of lutein, for the eyes, to prevent macular degeneration. Cholesterol isn't the boogeyman it was feared to be. Heart disease is genetic in my family, so I keep up to date on these things. Eat your omelettes without fear, people!

All I can say about that 50-egg cake is, if it's got chocolate in it, I'M THERE! ;-)

PerfumeMe - Very interesting tidbit of information you've shared. Macular degeneration is definitely in my genes, so I'm HAPPY to eat more omelets!

Most of the men in my family are doctors . . . they're indecisive about egg yolks. No matter how 'healthy' a 50 egg cake would be . . . I'd be wary even to taste it. My sister was told not even to eat a single crumb. I can get the recipe, I think . . . for those with enough patience and fortitude, to crack fifty eggs without including the shells and cartons.

I've never heard of such a thing....How could that be????

I've heard of chicken with 20 cloves of garlic but no cake with 50 eggs!

Glo . . . some of the lower end, Greek recipes used a dozen eggs, for one cake. I think it was because these people had so little in 'the old country.' When they made it to America they rather went overboard, especially with food. My grandmother was very thin, when she got to America . . . that changed, with time. At any rate . . . several women at this function, verified the FIFTY egg count. My sister said it didn't appear to be flour-less. Just a very FIRM, chocolate cake. I'll bet! Had to be like mortar! Glo . . . can you imagine BREAKING fifty eggs?? With NO SHELL, getting in the mix? I can't. I'd be in a straight jacket, by that time. Throwing in the cartons, too . . .

I did 36 scrambled eggs for my Christmas Brunch (which by the way wasn't enough). By the end of cracking those I didn't care if there was shell or not either!! LOL! (Only kidding. I did care, but I was was almost to the point, ya know???)

I don't think one piece of a 50 egg cake could hurt. It's no worse than an omlet.

I commend you, Victoria!! After cracking six eggs, I get shell happy. Fifty eggs? Forget about it . . . shells, cartons, the works. I do wonder what this cake, tasted like . . . had to create an eggy palate, n'est pas?

Well, how many eggs you get all depends on how many pieces the cake is cut into. It's easy to figure out when you see the piece sizes. I'd be more concerned to know if there was any hydrogenated shortening used in there than dividing up the eggs.

The reason I don't think eggs in moderation are a cholesterol problem is while the yolks have a lot of cholesterol, the whites in the eggs contain loads of lecithin, which breaks down cholesterol--in other words, balanced protein. In moderation, I see no problem for a normal healthy person especially.

Still, Fiveoaks . . . I would never want to eat a big piece of a sheetcake, made with fifty eggs . . . aren't twelve, enough?? What is the point, of a fifty egg cake?

I would love the recipe. Assuming the cake was made in a standard-size jelly-roll pan, which is really a half-sheet, the cake would serve at least 50 people. One egg per serving. Big deal. Armanis, you seem to have much more faith in doctors than I do. In my experience, the vast majority of them have little interest in food and know nothing more than what they read in the current medical journal, the information in which changes weekly.

Support the poultry industry? (Actually I don't want to do that--they raise the chickens in little boxes!)

Sandra, if you want that recipe, I'll try to get it for you . . . let me know if you can break fifty eggs, without a hitch. I know that I couldn't do it. Well, gosh . . . rather than to argue with my doctor about something like cholesterol, at age 50 . . . I try to take his advice. I have known my share of doctors who maintain the unhealthiest of habits . . . that's their business. When they talk to me, I hope only that they're giving me good instruction.

Yep, waiting for the recipe. I will divide it by 10.

I'll do my best to get the recipe, for you . . . but I can't guarantee that I'll come through. I don't see these women, myself. It's up to my sister, to retrieve the recipe. Didn't think I'd get serious requests. Perhaps this cake recipe exists, online . . . I'll see if I can find it.

Have been searching, online: the closest I've found, is an 18 egg yolk sheetcake recipe . . . nothing close to 50 eggs. Not yet, anyway.