Investigation of the Possibility of Producing Low-calorie Cake Containing Flaxseed Mucilage as Fat Replacer

Cup cake is one of the foods that fat replacement can be used in its preparation. In this study، the application of flaxseed mucilage (as fat replacer) in reducing the fat content in cake formulations was investigated، and its effect on the characteristics of low-calorie cake and batter was then evaluated. Flaxseed mucilage extraction was performed. In order to produce low calorie cake، different percentages of fat were considered. Optimization of the reaction and the optimum level of each variable were conducted by response surface methodology using design expert software. Any changes in batter viscosity and cake firmness were monitored، and based on the model، optimum formulation was obtained. The tests were carried out to examine the properties of optimized formulation، including viscosity، specific gravity of batter and volumetric index of cakes. Then the results were analyzed by SAS software. Variables of the model (water، mucilage and fat) were effective on the viscosity and texture، as linear and quadratic levels، respectively; there was an interaction between the water and mucilage content. According to the results، there was no significant difference between the measured and predicted viscosity of the batter and firmness of the cake. The optimum conditions (p<0. 05) were determined as 71. 53% water، 1. 60% mucilage and 10. 38% fat. then the properties of batter and cake at optimum conditions were studied. It was observed that viscosity and specific gravity of the optimized batter formulation were more than those of the control (p<0. 05). Volumetric index of the optimized cake was higher than that of the control (p<0. 05). In respect to sensory evaluation، there was no significant difference between the optimized (low-calorie) and control cakes (P<0. 01). Generally، the results indicated that production of low-calorie cake by using flaxseed mucilage as fat replacer is possible، so that the lipid levels could reduce to 76. 40%. By using flaxseed mucilage، fat content can be reduced without considerable decrease in the product quality.