New Concept in Reduced‐Calorie Sponge Cake Production by Xylitol and Oligofructose

In the present study, the influence of sucrose replacement with xylitol and oligofructose on volume, apparent and solid density, porosity, water activity, crust color, texture and sensory properties of reduced‐calorie sponge cakes was investigated (control: 100% sucrose, X 1 : 100% xylitol, X 2 : 77% xylitol‐23% oligofructose, X 3 : 23% xylitol‐57% sucrose‐20% oligofructose and X 4 : 25% xylitol‐75% sucrose). Based on the results X 3 indicated the highest volume and porosity and the lowest apparent density. X 3 also possessed the same firmness with sucrose cakes, while other reduced‐calorie samples showed lower firmness compared to control. In terms of crust color, all reduced‐calorie samples excluding X 1 had darker crust than control. Control cakes showed the highest water activity than other samples. The sensory scores of all reduced‐calorie cakes were similar to control at the 1st and 7th days of evaluation, while dietetic samples got higher scores than sucrose cakes at the 14th day after production. Xylitol had no significant effect on solid density ( P  > 0.05). Practical Applications Due to high level of sucrose in cake formulation, and problems such as obesity and increased blood sugar as the result of over consumption of these products, it is necessary to find a way to eliminate or reduce sucrose in cake formulation. Bulking agents are allowed for low calorie and diabetic diets, since their metabolism is slow and incomplete. The purpose of this research is using different concentrations of xylitol and oligofructose as bulking agents in reduced‐calorie cakes. Based on our findings, partial substitution of sucrose with xylitol and oligofructose (X 3 : xylitol‐sucrose‐oligofructose) showed the best results. On the other hand, complete substitution of sucrose with xylitol (X 1 ) did not provide suitable physical and sensory properties.