Investigating the effects of fat and sugar reduction on the rheological, physicochemical, microbial and sensorial characteristics of gluten-free functional cup cake

In this study, rice, white bean, and chia flours were used as substitutes for wheat flour, inulin as a fat mimetic at levels of 0 and 30 g, and sucralose as a partial replacement for sugar at levels of 0 and 0.5 g in cakes. Based on the results obtained in this study, replacing sugar with sucralose and substituting fat with inulin in gluten-free cake led to a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in viscosity and enthalpy of the batter, carbohydrate content, fat content, peroxide value, specific volume, and a significant increase (p < 0.05) in ash content and fiber percentage of the cakes compared to the control sample. Microbiological evaluation results also indicated that replacing fat and sugar with inulin and sucralose reduced the population of mold and yeast in the cake compared to the control sample. Finally, sensory evaluation results showed that cakes in which a portion of the sugar was replaced with sucralose had significantly lower scores (p < 0.05) in terms of taste, and overall acceptance compared to other samples. However, substituting fat with inulin did not create a significant difference in sensory evaluation parameters of the cakes produced compared to the control cake.