Physicochemical Qualities and Consumer Perception of Tomato Sponge Cakes

The effects of differing baking ingredient formulations on physicochemical qualities and consumer preferences were investigated using sponge cakes incorporated with tomato powder, a healthy and beneficial food ingredient, as a model system. Tomato powder was incorporated into cake batter at four different amounts (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%, w/w) by replacing equivalent amount of wheat flour. After appropriate mixing, sponge cakes were baked and cake quality attributes were evaluated after cooling. Specific volume decreased with an increase in the tomato powder substitution, although not significantly (p greater than 0.05). On the other hand, baking loss increased from 10.3 (control) to 13.4 (30% sample) as the tomato powder level increased in the formulation. Lightness (L*) decreased significantly from 79.5 to 74.1 whereas the firmness significantly increased with the higher incorporation of tomato powder (p less than 0.05). The consumer preferences on color, taste, and flavor, but not softness, were significantly affected by the amount of tomato powder incorporated in the sample (p less than 0.05). With respect to overall acceptability, the 20% sample received the highest mean score of 5.1, although this was not significantly different from the 10% sample or control (p greater than 0.05). The incorporation of tomato powder, up to 20%, in the formulation of sponge cakes did not significantly influence the consumers' acceptability in all attributes tested.