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Megan Hovey
NTR 211 Spring 2016
Lab Report #4
Introduction:
Substituting ingredients in a standard recipe can help reduce the
amount of fat, salt, sugar and calories for a healthier recipe option.
Often for lack of an ingredient, a recipe is ruined or an extra step to
the store is required. Sometimes, you need to buy a large container of
an ingredient for just a teaspoon or two needed in a recipe
(Henneman, 1). It is important to experiment with variations to recipes
to make favorite foods healthier without sacrificing the flavor or
experience, or to simply save a trip to the store and use an ingredient
that is already in the pantry.
The purpose of this lab was to test the variations of substitutions
that can be used while baking. Using different variations for baking
cakes can change the cakes appearance, consistency, taste, smell and
nutrient content.
Methods:
Original Recipe and Variation Recipes created by Chef Sokol for the
Fudgy Chocolate Cake Lab
Original Recipe
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
6) On low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa
mixture beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
7) Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a small
knife or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes
out clean.
Procedure for Variation Recipe (#2)
1) Preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. Greased and floured a 9inch round pan cake. Put it aside.
2) Whisked cocoa into cup boiling water.
3) Whisked flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl
and set it aside.
4) In a large mixing bowl creamed the cup light, trans fat free
butter, cup unsweetened applesauce and sugar.
5) One egg at a time was added to the mixture followed by the
vanilla.
6) On low speed, the flour mixture was added alternately with the
cocoa mixture beginning and ending with the flour mixture. First
1/3 of the flour mixture was added, and then of the cocoa
mixture, followed by 1/3 flour mixture, followed by cocoa
mixture and lastly mixed in the remaining 1/3 flour mixture.
7) Poured the batter into the greased and floured pan. Baked for 45
minutes.
Lastly, every group assigned to each variation was to cut the finished
cake into small sample sizes and place on counter with variation title.
Each student was to sample the variations of cake and fill out the table
Data/Results:
Many variations were made in creating the fudgy chocolate cake.
Listed below are the observations from each variation.
Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Batter
observatio
ns
After
baking
observatio
ns
Very even,
small holes,
and dark
brown
Texture
of
finished
cake
Moist,
fudgy
and
fairly
fluffy
Light
and
fluffy
yet a bit
moist
compare
d to
others
Dry,
looked
hard
Heigh
t of
cake
Taste
Other
observatio
ns
1.6
inches
Sweet
and very
chocolate
ly
1
inches
Chewy,
not as
sweet as
the
original,
very
chocolate
ly
Dry, fell
apart
easily,
very
artificial
tasting
Not as
sweet,
can taste
the
wheat,
chocolate
ly
Rich,
chocolate
ly
Not as
sweet as
other
Variatio
n 1:
Original
Recipe
Creamy and
light brown
Variatio
n 2: Half
light
butter,
half
apple
sauce
Creamy and
shiny
apple sauce
made it
appear to
have a bit
more liquid
Spongy,
dark, shiny
on top,
small
bubbles
Variatio
n 3:
Splenda
sugar
substitu
te
Variatio
n 4:
Whole
wheat
flour
Dry, light
brown,
looked very
thick to mix
No smell,
very dark,
flattened
and dense
Blended
well,
smooth
Light
brown, well
rounded, bit
cracked,
fluffy
Chewy,
fluffy
1
inches
Variatio
n 5:
Canola
oil
Smooth,
dark brown,
sugar and
oil
crystalized
Shiny, light
brown,
smooth
Small holes,
very dark
brown,
baked off
side of pan
Dull, dark
chocolate,
small tiny
Chewy,
moist
and rich
1
inches
Very
moist,
chewy
1
inches
Variatio
n 6: Egg
substitu
.43
inches
(1.1
cm)
te
cracks
variations
, heavier
tasting
Discussion:
After tasting all the variations of the fudgy chocolate cake, it was
clear that some substitutions made the cake taste significantly
different while other substitutions made the cake taste very similar to
the original fudgy chocolate cake recipe. In variation cake #2 the full
fat butter ingredient was replaced with light butter and applesauce.
There is more water in light butter versus full fat butter, and a fair
amount of water in applesauce itself. The consistency of this batter
with the added water gave the cake a heavy and dense texture. The
taste was rich and fairly moist, but not as moist as the original recipe.
Variation cake #2 lost some moistness and tenderness because the
cake is lower in fat versus the original cake recipe. Applesauce also
makes a nutritious fat replacement when making baked goods. There
was an increase of fiber and a decrease in total fat by adding
applesauce as a replacement. Applesauce is also rich in pectin; it
coats the grains of flower just as well as oil or butter does in the baking
process (Oulton, 1). By adding the applesauce it helped keep variation
cake #2 moist, especially because we lost the full fat butter and
replaced it with low fat butter. The applesauce also gave the cake a
great consistency with a hint of sweetness.
they form a strong bond (Masibay, 1). The combination of water and
sugar affects the texture of baked goods. Their special bond allows
sugar to lock in moisture so that baked goods dont dry out. Sugar also
creates tenderness. It is the sugar in the cake batter that takes water
away from proteins and starches, and therefore helps control the
amount of protein structure building the batter could do (Masibay, 1).
This results in a more tender cake.
Sugar also helps cakes rise during baking. Variations cake #3
did not rise, while all the other variation cakes that used regular sugar
did rise. When you mix up cake batter and beat sugar into fat, eggs,
and other liquid ingredients, the sugar crystals cut into the mixture,
creating thousands of tiny air bubbles that lighten the batter
(Masibay, 1). The bubbles expand and lift the batter during the baking
process, causing the cake to rise. Lastly sugar helps cake receive their
appealing golden-brown color. Caramelization occurs with baked
goods using sugar. In this process, sugar molecules break down into
smaller and smaller parts and begin to turn deeper shades of brown
and develop more complex flavors (Masibay, 1). Sugar deepened the
color and flavor to the other variation cakes in this lab. It is
tremendous to see the benefits of using sugar in baked goods.
In this lab it was evident that cooking with certain substitutions
can hinder the taste of the original recipe, while other substitutions
made the cake still taste delicious and resulted in a healthier option.
The healthier options such as switching out all off the all-purpose white
flour for whole-wheat flour and switching out full fat butter to light
butter and applesauce still tasted delicious without losing the flavor of
a fudgy chocolate cake. In this experiment it was also apparent that
baking with Splenda might not be the best choice as it deters from a
cakes taste, smell, appearance and texture. Relating back to the
introduction, making healthier substitutions to certain ingredients will
not hinder the flavor and experience of eating favorite foods.
References:
Henneman, A. (n.d.). Ingredients Substitutions. Retrieved April 7, 2016,
from http://food.unl.edu/ingredient-substitutions
from http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-sugar-
affects-baking.aspx