Feasibility study of low-calorie cake preparation with erythritol and oligo-fructose

One of the most common problems in modern communities is long-term high energy intakes due to consumption of high-energy foods, resulting in overweight and obesity. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of producing a low-energy sponge cake by complete or partial substitution of sucrose with erythritol and oligo-fructose.

Cake batter properties, including specific gravity and viscosity, as well as cake characteristics, including volume, apparent density, solid density, porosity, moisture and water activity, crust and crumb color, textural firmness, and flavour were determined.

Cake batter prepared using a mixture of erythritol-sucrose-oligofructose had a specific gravity and viscosity similar to the control batter. Furthermore, the volume, apparent density, solid density, porosity, moisture and crumb color of cakes prepared with such a mixture were not statistically different (p>0.05) from those of the control cake. The data also showed that, even while in storage, the cakes containing erythritol-sucrose-oligofructose were less firm than the control sample. The crust color of the experimental cakes was not singnificantly different from that of the control cakes (p>0/05), while their crumb color was less. Samples prepared with complete or partial replacement of sucrose with erythritol had a higher water activity as compared with the control value (P<0.05). Finally, cake samples prepared with a mixture of erythritol-sucrose-oligofructose had the closest taste score to that of the control cake.

It is possible to produce a low-energy and high-quality sponge cake with characterstics similar to those of the control cake by using an erythritol-sucrose-oligofructose mixture. Keywords: