Effects of legume-based aquafaba on batter rheology and quality characteristics of microwave-infrared baked cakes

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of egg white replacement by aquafaba (obtained from different legume sources that are cowpea and lupin) at different levels (0%–50%–100%) in cake formulation while examining the batter rheology and cake quality characteristics baked in conventional oven and microwave-infrared hybrid oven (MW-IR). The physical properties (emulsion stability, foaming capacity, and foaming stability) and steady shear measurements of aquafaba samples, the rheological characteristics of cake better samples (flow behavior and dynamic oscillatory behavior), and quality parameters of cake samples (weight loss, color, texture profile analysis, and specific volume) were examined. Emulsion stability of egg replacers (different levels of aquafaba) was not as high as egg white. Although lupin aquafaba had higher foaming capacity than cowpea aquafaba, their foaming stability were not significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). Flow characteristics of egg replacers and cake batters were modeled by power law (r2 = 0.989–0.999), Casson models (r2 = 0.994–0.999), Herschel–Bulkley (r2 = 0.998–0.999), and Bingham models (r2 = 0.988–0.999), indicating all samples had a shear-thinning behavior where cowpea aquafaba and the cake batter had the highest apparent viscosity. Oscillatory measurements of cake batter samples resulted in a solid elastic-like behavior, tan δ < 1, where the lowest tan δ values belonged to cowpea aquafaba batter. Egg replacement at all levels affected the color of cake samples. The texture of the cake samples was not significantly affected from the different oven types, and the eggless cake samples were the softest. Cakes containing egg white had the highest springiness, chewiness, and gumminess values. Aquafaba cakes were the least springy across both baking methods and were much less chewy, particularly in conventional baking. Aquafaba cakes were the least gummy, with MW-IR baking reducing gumminess further for these formulations. The full replacement of egg white resulted in a significant decrease in specific volume in microwave-infrared baked cakes. Substituting 50% of egg white by lupin aquafaba could be a valid alternative in MW-IR baked cakes.