Abstract: | Shortenings based on palm oil (PO), combinations of PO and butter fat (BF) at a ratio of PO:BF = 3:2 and PO:BF = 2:3 and 100% BF were evaluated. In the case of PO shortening, 0.2% diacetyl flavour was added during processing. Baking tests indicated that combination of PO with BF produced higher specific batter volume and specific cake volume compared with PO shortening or 100% BF. The addition of BF to PO resulted in softer cake texture as indicated by instrumental measurement. Sensory evaluation indicated that cakes made with PO shortening with added diacetyl flavour (at 0.2%) resulted in significantly (p<0.05) higher scores in terms of grain size, softness and flavour compared to cakes made with 100% BF. However, there was no significant difference in the sensory scores of the cakes made with PO, PO:BF = 3:2 and PO:BF = 2:3 shortenings. Thus PO helped to improve performance of BF in production of yellow cake. |