Proximate Composition and Sensory Characteristics of Cakes Produced from Wheat - African Breadfruit Composite Flour Blends

This study evaluated the proximate composition and sensory characteristics of cakes produced from blends of wheat and African breadfruit (Treculia africana) flours. African breadfruit seeds were processed into flour and used to substitute wheat flour at different proportions of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%, represented by samples A, B, C, D and E, respectively. The 100% wheat flour cake served as the control. The cake samples were produced using standard baking procedures, while proximate composition was determined using standard methods. Sensory evaluation was conducted by a 25-member panel using a 9-point hedonic scale. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics and analysis of variance using SPSS version 20.0, with means separated using Tukey's test. The results showed that moisture content ranged from 17.63% in sample E to 21.25% in sample A, ash from 2.41 to 3.20%, crude fibre from 0.68 to 1.25%, fat from 12.84 to 15.22%, protein from 7.16 to 8.33%, and carbohydrate from 54.37 to 55.40%. Increasing substitution with African breadfruit flour generally increased the ash, fibre, fat and protein contents, while moisture and carbohydrate contents decreased. Sensory evaluation showed that the 100% wheat cake had the highest scores for taste, aroma, mouthfeel and general acceptability; however, cakes containing 5 and 10% African breadfruit flour were also highly acceptable and did not differ significantly from the control in some sensory attributes. Although the 20% substitution level recorded lower sensory scores, the product remained fairly acceptable. The study demonstrates that African breadfruit flour can be incorporated into wheat flour for cake production, with substitution levels of up to 20% providing improved nutritional characteristics while maintaining acceptable sensory quality. The utilization of African breadfruit flour in bakery products could also promote the use of an underutilized indigenous food resource and reduce dependence on wheat flour.