Textural, physical and sensory impacts of the use of green banana puree to replace fat in reduced sugar pound cakes

Green banana puree (GBP) was used to replace fat at different levels (0%-100%) in pound cakes, followed by sugar reduction (0%-50%). Sensory profile by Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) tests and acceptance were applied to settle the best formulation in each step. The cakes with the best acceptances were characterized by physical and textural analyses. GPB cakes with sugar reductions of 20% and 40% showed the highest acceptance. According to CATA, replacing fat with GBP causes changes in color, slice size, compaction, and some attributes of odor, flavor, and texture. Sugar reduction impaired the appearance acceptance and led to a higher proportion of big alveoli, beige or dark beige color, mild taste, and wheat flour flavor. The reduction of sugar led to the increase of the cake cooking factors. The control cake sample had the lower specific volume. The cakes with GBP presented higher firmness (20%: 9.4 N; 40%: 11.2 N) and springiness (20%: 51%; 40%: 51%) than the control (6.6 N, 44.1%). GBP replacement and reduction of sugar increased luminosity, color saturation and hue angle in the crust of the product. Results indicate that GBP replacing fat is feasible at 25% with a reduction of 20% and 40% of sugar.