Evaluation of whole chia (Salvia hispanica L.) flour and hydrogenated vegetable fat in pound cake

•Whole chia flour was incorporated into pound cake together hydrogenated vegetable fat.•Technological, nutritional and sensory quality of cakes were investigated.•The variation of these ingredients contributed to maintenance the moisture content.•The chia cake exhibited a considerable increase of omega-3 fatty acid content.•The chia cake showed an excellent omega-6/omega-3 ratio.

This study investigated the effects of adding whole chia flour (WCF) on the technological, nutritional and sensory qualities of cakes. Different contents of WCF (0-30 g/100 g flour mixture) and hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF) (12-20 g/100 g flour mixture) were added to the cake mix based on a 22 central composite rotational design. Subsequently, the cake with the best technological results was selected and both the selected cake and the control cake (without WCF) were evaluated for their nutritional and sensory qualities. The results showed that addition of WCF decreased the specific volume and colour parameters of the cakes. The variation in WCF and HVF contents contributed to maintenance of the moisture content during storage. The best technological results were obtained with cakes containing up to 15 g WCF/100 g flour mixture and from 16 to 20 g HVF/100 g flour mixture. The cake formulations containing 15 g WCF/100 g flour mixture and 20 g HVF/100 g flour mixture were selected for further evaluations, and presented higher protein, lipid and ash contents than the control cake. This formulation also exhibited a considerable increase in its omega-3 fatty acid content, good sensory acceptance and a greater purchasing intention.