Bakery products constitute one of the most consumed foods in the world. Ingredients such as flour, egg proteins, sugar and fat play an important functional role in the structure and textural properties of cakes. The partial replacement of eggs with whey protein isolate has led in the production of cakes with similar quality in terms of appearance and texture in comparison to cakes produced using only egg proteins. Additionally, the cakes produced with a mixture of egg and whey protein solution appeared to have a lower rate of staling, while the addition of a combination of hydrocolloids enhanced the quality and mechanical properties of the produced cakes.

Our aim was to study sensory properties and pleasantness of pound cakes produced with different protein treatments. Three types of cakes were baked with different recipes were tested in controlled sensory laboratory conditions (Functional Foods Forum, ISO-8589). The sensory evaluations were carried out during the next day of the baking. Both the triangle test for the difference testing (n = 9 subjects, 3 replicates) and descriptive analysis for sensory profiling (n = 10 subjects, 3 replicates) with reference samples and linescale (0 = none, 10 = extremely strong) were used. Descriptive sensory profile for odour, taste, texture and flavour were developed and analysed with a trained panel. In addition, consumers (25 women and 3 men) were asked to evaluate the hedonic ratings for odour, appearance, texture and taste using 7-point verbal scale.

Based on the results sensory properties of cake samples were significantly different. Textural and visual properties had stronger influence on sensory quality differences between these pound cakes than on odour or flavour. Results show that addition of whey protein isolates was modifying more sensory tactile properties than smell and taste. It is always important to test sensory quality when replacing ingredients.