Effect of replacement of fat with 25, 50, 75 and 100% sesame oil (on fat basis); 50% sesame oil, hydrocolloids
and emulsifiers on the rheological, microstructural, quality characteristics and fatty acid profile
of cake was studied. Addition of increasing amount of sesame oil decreased viscosity, increased specific
gravity of cake batter; decreased cake volume and overall quality score. Microstructure studies showed
disrupted gluten matrix. Among the two different hydrocolloids [hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)
and xanthan] and emulsifiers [glycerol monostearate (GMS) and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (SSL)] tried,
HPMC and SSL increased the batter viscosity, decreased the specific gravity, increased the volume and
overall quality score. Use of combination of HPMC and SSL improved significantly the quality characteristics
of cake with 50% sesame oil in such a way that the overall quality score was higher than that of
the control cake with fat. The microstructure of cake crumb with 50% sesame oil and HPMC showed
a smooth structure with less number of cavities and SSL showed a continuous protein matrix. On
replacing the fat with 50% sesame oil, there was a decrease in saturated fatty acids and increase in
unsaturated fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid. The fatty acid profile of cake with 50% sesame oil was
better than the control cake as there was 2.4 times decrease in palmitic acid content and 5.9 times
increase in essential fatty acids (EFA) content.