Quality Characteristics of Cake Made from Blends of Soy-Bean and Unripe Plantain Flour

This study was undertaken to assess the quality characteristics of cake made from composite flour (soy-bean and unripe plantain flour) enriched with carrot. The soy bean and unripe plantain were prepared and then blended into the following ratios: soy bean/unripe plantain (80:20), soy bean/unripe plantain (40:60), soy bean/unripe plantain (20:80), soy bean/unripe plantain (60:40), soy bean/unripe plantain (50:50), control (100% wheat flour). Functional analysis were carried out on the flour samples while the cakes produced from the flours were subjected to proximate analysis and sensory evaluation on a 9-point hedonic scale using 25-member trained and semi trained panelists. The results showed that swelling index ranged from 1.20-2.05, WAC 1.55-2.95ml/g, OAC 0.86-1.04ml/g, bulk density 0.24-0.29g/ml, wettability 16.9-29.3 sec and sinkability 24.9-38.2 sec. unripe plantain significantly improved the functional properties of the flour blends. The proximate composition were 16.1-23.2% protein, 9.0-16.1% fat, 21.8-42.7% moisture, 1.3-4.3% ash, 1.8-4.5% fibre and 22.5-44.7% carbohydrate. The proximate composition of the cakes produced from these flour blends compared very well with the 100% wheat flour cake and was in most cases superior. The sensory attributes of all the composite cakes (except the soy bean/unripe plantain (60:40) cake) compared well with the control and were all acceptable. The result of this study shows that various formulations of soy bean-unripe plantain flours can totally replace wheat flour in production of nutritious cakes of acceptable sensory quality.