A review of egg replacement in cake production: Effects on batter and cake properties

• Published in: Trends in food science & technology 2021-05, Vol.111, p.346-359
• Main Authors: Yazici, Gamze Nil, Ozer, Mehmet Sertac
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allergies; Aquafaba; Avian flu; Bakery products; Baking; Cakes; Chickpeas; Cholesterol; Cooking; Diet; Economic factors; Egg allergy; Egg replacement; Eggless cake; Eggs; Food additives; Food industry; Food processing industry; Food supply; Formulations; Health problems; Moisture content; Particle size distribution; Phenylketonuria; Proteins; Rheological properties; Sensory properties; Shelf life; Size distribution; Specific gravity; Specific volume; Vegan; Veganism; Vegetarian; Vegetarianism; Water content; Whey
• ISSN: 0924-2244; 1879-3053
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2021.02.071

In recent years, there is a growing demand for and interest in egg replacement, due mainly to health problems (phenylketonuria, egg allergy) or health-related concerns (cholesterol, avian influenza), dietary preferences (vegan, vegetarian), and/or religious beliefs of consumers; and also to issues concerning sustainable food supply and economic factors for producers. In this regard, the food industry is searching for egg alternatives to produce partially or totally egg-replaced, in other words, eggless goods. Therefore, recent studies have focused on using egg replacers obtained from different sources in bakery products, particularly in cake formulations. Several research studies have obtained promising results, even though egg proteins play a crucial role in cake quality, and hence, replacing eggs is a significant challenge. In particular, whey and soy-based proteins are the most preferred egg replacers. Their utilization, in combination with some other food additives, such as emulsifiers and/or hydrocolloids, can imitate egg properties. Furthermore, the cooking water of pulses (called “aquafaba”), especially chickpea aquafaba has been shown to have great potential for egg replacement. Thus, using such egg replacers in cake production could represent a practical, sustainable, clean label, and cost-effective alternative; they are also easy to store and have long shelf-life, compared to fresh eggs. This review provides information about the reasons for egg replacement, highlights the most commonly used egg replacers in cake production, and describes their effects on some batter properties (specific gravity, viscosity, textural properties, rheological properties, and bubble size distribution) and cake quality parameters (moisture content, baking loss, specific volume, external properties, color, texture, crumb structure, and sensory properties). •Egg replacement is important for PKU patients, and for consumers who have an egg allergy, or different dietary preferences.•Whey and pulse-based proteins, particularly soy proteins, are the most common egg replacers.•Hydrocolloids and/or emulsifiers have a high potential for use, with or without animal- or plant-origin protein sources.•Further studies should focus on the use of pulse cooking water (aquafaba) as an egg replacer in cake production.