Application of aged egg in enabling increased substitution of sucrose by litesse (polydextrose) in high‐ratio cakes

Previous reports show that replacing sucrose by polydextrose in cakes leads to an elevation of the starch gelatinisation temperature such that it no longer coincides with the egg protein denaturation transition. It is known that as eggs age, the ovalbumin transforms to S‐ovalbumin with a higher denaturation temperature. Linking these observations led to the hypothesis that baking reduced‐sugar cakes with aged eggs might bring the starch gelatinisation into proximity of the protein denaturation thereby improving the final texture. Baking trials and instrumental texture evaluations of the resulting high‐ratio cakes were carried out with fresh egg and egg that had been aged at 37°C for 3, 7 and 14 days. Texture changes that do exist are principally related to differences in the cake crumb density and crumb springiness.