Production and Physicochemical Properties of Cake with Different Ratios of Soy Lecithin

This research was geared towards producing and evaluating the physicochemical properties of cake with different ratios of soy lecithin. Soy lecithin was produced by the degumming of raw soy oil by adding 2% water content to the oil and heating to 70oC. Soy oil yield was 31% while lecithin yield was 2.18%. The soy lecithin produced had a yellow-brownish colour. Mixture design was used for the experiment. The soy lecithin was used to replace 50% and 100% egg content in two different cake samples while a third sample had no lecithin. The first sample was made up of 250g wheat flour, 100g Margarine, 65g sugar, 5g baking powder, 2 eggs, 1.25g soy lecithin and 2g salt (MEL2), the second sample was made up of 250g wheat flour, 80g Margarine, 65g sugar, 5g baking powder, 2.5g soy lecithin and 2g salt (MEL3) while the third sample was made up of 250g wheat flour, 100g Margarine, 65g sugar, 5g baking powder, 4 eggs and 2g salt (MEL1). The margarine content of sample MEL3 was reduced by 20%. The physical properties of the cake samples were examined and sample MEL2 gave a better physical appeal than the other samples after baking. The specific volume of sample MEL2 (4.21cm3) was higher than those of samples MEL1 and MEL3. The proximate composition of the samples showed that the moisture content ranged from 32.9 – 34.1%, protein content 5.89 – 6.14%, ash content 1.61 – 1.64%, fat content 14.5 – 15.3% and carbohydrate 43.09 – 44.85%. Sensory evaluation was carried out on the samples to determine the most acceptable and analysis of variance was used to check for significant difference. Sample MEL2 was preferred in taste, colour, texture, flavour and general acceptability and was significantly different from samples MEL1 and MEL3 in general acceptability. It was observed that egg and some fat content in cakes could be replaced with soy lecithin. This study forms a basis for new product development for the pastry food industry.