Chocolate Cake: An Investigation Into Healthier

Substitutions During Baking and Their Impact on

Taste and Texture

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)

cup unsifted unsweetened cocoa

1 cup boiling water
1 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon baking powder
teaspoon salt
cup butter, softened

8) 1 cups granulated sugar

9) 2 eggs
10)
teaspoon vanilla extract
Variation Recipes
1) Make the original recipe, as is.
2) Substitute the cup of butter with cup ( stick) light, transfat free butter and cup unsweetened applesauce (note:
decrease boiling water to cup)
*This variation (#2) was completed for this particular
experiment*
3) Substitute 1 cups Splenda for the 1 cups granulated sugar
4) Substitute 1 cup white whole wheat flour, plus cup and 2
tablespoons all-purpose flour, for the original amount of allpurpose flour
5) Substitute cup canola oil for the cup butter (note: decrease
boiling water to cup)
6) Substitute cup egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters, for the 2
eggs
Procedure for Original Recipe
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 9-inch
round cake pan. Set aside.
2) Whisk cocoa into the boiling water and cool.
3) Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl
and set aside.
4) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed
until light and fluffy.
5) Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.

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

mentioned below including after baking observations, texture of the

finished cake, height of cake, and taste.

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.

Variation cake #4 replaced some (not all) white all-purpose flour

with whole-wheat flour. The batter blended very well but the aftertaste
was a bit different compared to the original cake recipe. The wheat
flavor from the whole-wheat flour made the cake taste less sweet. It
was important to not replace all of the all-purpose white flour and with
whole-wheat flour. Too much whole wheat flour in a recipe calling for
all-purpose flour might result in a reduced volume and a heavier
product (Morin, 1). Variation cake #4 had a nice ratio of both flours
that gave the final product a wonderful volume; it was not too heavy or
too dry. The whole-wheat flour includes the outer shell of the grain,
which provides extra fiber and aids in digestion (Masibay, 1).
Replacing all-purpose white flour with whole-wheat flour can add new
nutrients, flavor, and texture to a cake.
Sugar was replaced with Splenda in variation cake #3. Splenda
is lower in calories compared to regular sugar and has been a popular
substitute in many baking occasions. The batter was quite dry, almost
shriveled, and had a very dark deep brown (almost black) appearance.
Once the Splenda cake was cooked and brought out to the table to eat,
the cake looked flat, almost as if it had sunk in. There were some holes
throughout the cake, and it also did not have a smell. It was clear
cooking with regular sugar overtrumped taste, appearance and smell
compared to cooking with Splenda. Sugar has many wonderful
benefits to bake with. When sugar molecules meet water molecules,

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

Masibay, K. Y. (2016). What Every Baker Needs to Know About Sugar.

Retrieved

from http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-sugar-

affects-baking.aspx

Morin, K. (2014, May 29). 83 Healthy Recipe Substitutions. Retrieved

from http://greatist.com/health/83-healthy-recipe-substitutions

Oulton, Randal (2004, May 12). Pectin. Retrieved from

http://www.cooksinfo.com/pectin

Sokol, Gail (Spring 2016). Fudgy Chocolate Cake Lab.