Effects of Ingredient Mixture Ratio on Quality Characteristics and Palatability of Sponge Cake Cooked using Microwave Oven

Abstract

We investigated the effects of different ratios of three ingredients, including egg, water, and oil, on the quality characteristics and palatability of sponge cake cooked using a microwave oven and determined the optimal mixture ratio, with the proportion of wheat flour and sugar fixed at 30% each. An increase in the proportion of egg reduced the batter density and increased the specific volume of cake but resulted in the formation of a non-uniform cake structure. An increase in the proportion of water led to the hollowing at the bottom of the cake. An increase in the proportion of oil led to a reduction in the specific volume of cake and disrupted the cake structure. In sensory evaluation, the softness, meltiness, moistness, oiliness, and overall palatability of the cake improved with a decrease in the proportion of egg and an increase in the proportions of water and oil. Therefore, we could conclude that the optimal mixture ratio was egg 20.0%: water 12.5%: oil 7.5% determined using the optimization analysis based on the sensory evaluation scores.