Cake is a sweet food which provides you lots of health benefits & refreshes your mood. It is made by combining different types of ingredients which contain various nutrients.
Though some survey-based evidences say that cakes are not good for us, it is a fact that they have several health benefits. But they should be consumed in proper quantities to ensure their safety.
Protein
Whether they’re performing as dough conditioners, structuring agents or moisture controllers, proteins are an essential ingredient of baked foods. They’re also a key part of the nutritional puzzle for kids and the elderly.
The protein content of wheat flour can affect how cake turns out, especially if the recipe calls for a high ratio of sugar or fat. The gluten in wheat flours is a main contributor to a tough, chewy bite. When cakes are made using lower levels of gluten, the resulting product is more airy and lighter.
To increase the protein content of cake flour, many bakers rely on chlorination, bromide and other additives to improve the texture and performance of the dough or batter. Chlorination increases the acidity of the flour, enhances its ability to absorb water and helps create a moist, tender product. Bromide promotes gluten development and helps the dough/batter stay smooth, supple and elastic.
A variety of high protein flours, including buckwheat, flaxseed, lupin and red lentil have been used successfully to make pound cakes. However, they must be diluted to ensure the cake has sufficient structure.
Flour from oats, peas, peanuts and rice are other high protein sources that are ideal for making light, fluffy cakes. If you’re trying to incorporate more protein into your baking, try adding a whey or casein blend, such as drink wholesome, or plant-based protein powders, such as hemp, flax or brown rice.
If you’re baking a cake that is going to need additional structure, it’s best to use a protein that’s more absorbent than whey, such as almond or coconut. You’ll need to add extra liquid to make up for the difference.
Regardless of the type of protein you choose, remember that it’s important to bake your cake for less time than you would with a regular recipe to prevent it from drying out. Denaturation, the process that occurs during baking, can denature protein structures and break weak chemical bonds that hold tertiary and secondary protein structures together.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a source of energy for your body. You get them from the foods you eat such as fruits, vegetables, milk and breads. Your body then uses these foods to make glucose, which is the main source of energy for your brain and other organs. Excess glucose is stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen, or in fat.
Carbohydrate nutrition also contains dietary fiber, which helps maintain bowel health and digestive health. It also provides you with vitamins and minerals.
The best sources of carbohydrates are wholegrains, fruit, legumes and vegetables. It is also important to avoid processed food and fried foods.
Some people over-consume carbohydrates, which are unhealthy for their bodies. They can cause weight gain, diabetes and other health problems.
There are many different types of carbohydrates, and they differ in how they are digested. Some are simple sugars (monosaccharides) and others are complex. These differ in the number of sugar molecules, their chemical structure and the length of time it takes them to be digested.
Monosaccharides are the smallest carbohydrates, which have one or two molecules of glucose or fructose in their chemical structure. They are easily utilized for energy and cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and insulin secretion from the pancreas.
Oligosaccharides are more complex, containing three or more sugars in their chemical structure. These take longer to be digested and the effect on blood sugar is less dramatic.
Polysaccharides are the larger carbohydrates and contain a large number of glucose molecules in their chemical structure. These are found in plants and animal cells, and they include starch and glycogen.
These carbohydrate types can be a part of any diet and should make up just over a third of your total caloric intake. It is recommended that you eat a variety of different carbohydrate-rich foods and choose those with vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.
Most carbohydrate-rich foods are healthy, but you must watch out for high kilojoules and saturated fats in snack foods. You should also avoid added sugars, which are a high calorie source of calories but lack micronutrients and can lead to weight gain.
Fats
Fats contribute to the taste, texture and appearance of baked goods. They can add a melt-in-your-mouth flavor, as well as act as a tenderizer in breads and cakes. They can also act as a leavening agent by helping gluten spread and stretch when mixed with yeast.
A variety of fats can be used in cake recipes, including butter, shortening and oil. Liquid fats, like vegetable oil, can be used as a substitute for solid fats, such as melted butter or lard. Typically, liquid fats will produce a moister, fluffier product than solid fats because the liquid fat will not congeal when the recipe calls for it to be melted.
Adding a small amount of liquid fat to a recipe can help reduce the total calories and saturated fat in the finished product, but it’s still important not to use more than the amount called for. Adding too much liquid fat will cause the batter or dough to become too sticky and may lead to uncooked ingredients that are difficult to remove from the oven.
While there are many different types of fats, some of the most popular include vegetable shortening, ghee and coconut oil. Vegetable shortening and ghee can be used in recipes for a variety of products, including cakes and pastries.
These oils can be added to doughs and batters to make them more stable and provide a smoother and more even texture, as well as a healthier alternative to traditional shortenings. They can also be poured directly into baked goods, such as cakes and muffins, to make them soft and moist.
Liquid fats can be used to replace up to a third of the total fat in a cake or biscuit recipe. Using liquid fats can help to increase the consistency of a product and give it a more moist and airy appearance, but a recipe will still need to be altered to adjust for the change in fat content.
Gums and gels are also considered potential fat replacers for cake, especially those containing lipid-based compounds such as xanthan gum and guar gum. These gels can help to improve the physical properties of a product and might also increase the suitability for nutrition claims such as sources of fibre or protein.
Fiber
Dietary fiber is a natural nutrient that occurs naturally in plant source foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It contributes to weight loss, reduces cholesterol levels and improves gastrointestinal health.
A high dietary intake of fiber is associated with lower risk of coronary heart diseases, diabetes and colon cancer (Lairon et al. 2005).
Several factors influence the amount of dietary fiber that can be consumed from a single food source. These include the amount of fiber in the food, its physicochemical properties and the availability of a variety of fiber sources in different forms and amounts.
To increase the amount of dietary fiber, bakers use various dietary fiber ingredients such as wheat flour substitutes, prebiotics and soluble isolated dietary fibers that can be added to cakes and other baked products. Inulin and oligofructose are two of the most common soluble isolated fiber ingredients used by bakers.
These ingredients can be added in relatively high amounts to batters and dough formulations to achieve a consumer-appealing claim such as “good source of fiber.”
Citrus fiber is an ingredient that is made from dried citrus pulp byproducts. This product contains lignin from the fruit and is aligned with the FDA’s definition of dietary fiber.
It has been shown that citrus based fibers can enhance the quality of baked products and provide a wide range of functionalities in addition to the dietary benefits. It helps to stabilize water and oil through difficult baking conditions, assists with moisture retention, improves emulsification and aids in stabilizing hydration and binding of other ingredients during the baking process.
In addition to being a dietary fiber, citrus fiber is also a very good source of antioxidants, vitamins B3, C and phosphorus. Vitamin C is known to strengthen the immune system and help to protect against oxidative stress, while phosphorus plays an important role in maintaining healthy bone structure, protein formation, hormonal balance, proper nutrient utilization and more.
The weight loss during the baking of cakes was significantly less in cakes enriched with lemon fiber, which is believed to be due to its high water holding capacity. However, the weight loss of oat and pea fiber containing cakes was similar to control cake.