Effect of Egg Yolk to Egg White Ratio on the Quality of Chiffon Cakes

Abstract

In this study, we investigated chiffon cake quality and sensory properties prepared with four different egg yolk-to-white ratios: 1:1 (W1), 1:1.5 (W1.5), 1:2 (W2), and 1:3 (W3).

The batter density decreased with an increasing egg white proportion, with W3 tending to contain higher amounts of large bubbles, whereas W1 exhibited a relatively higher proportion of small bubbles. The specific cake volumes did not differ significantly, whereas the W1 hardness was significantly higher than that of the other samples as the other samples tended to soften with increasing egg white contents. Our SEM observations demonstrated a sponge-like cake structure with fine spherical pores in W1. Increasing egg white proportions corresponded with an increasing pore size and a tendency to shift toward an oval shape. Based on the hardness-, crumb color-, and sensory evaluation-related results, indicating a preference toward W1.5 and W2, we suggest that an egg yolk-to-white ratio of 1:1.5-2 could be considered appropriate. When the egg white proportion reached 3, the cake crumb color became unfavorable and cake shape retention became inefficient.