Physicochemical Qualities and Consumer Acceptance of Chocolate Layer Cake

Physicochemical qualities and consumer acceptability of chocolate layer cake were studied with varied levels of rosemary powder at 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6%. The ash content of the cake increased from 2.30 to 3.10%, as the amount of rosemary powder increased from 0 to 0.6%, and the carbohydrate content of the cake decreased as the addition of rosemary powder increased. There were no significant differences in moisture contents and pH values among the samples and the pH values of all samples were within the typical pH range of 7.5-8.0 for chocolate layer cakes. Water loss from the control cake was greater than that from the cakes with rosemary powder supporting the suggestion that the addition of rosemary powder to the chocolate layer cake could increase moisture retention of the cake. Consumer acceptability of all the samples showed higher preferences of more than 7 points. Rosemary aroma, mint flavor and after taste were highly positively correlated with the fat content. Fat and ash content of the cake, which tended to increase in proportion to the rosemary powder content, were negatively correlated with acceptance of herb flavor, sweet taste, moistness, softness and intensity of softness but positively correlated with intensity of herb flavor. With the results above, trials on chocolate layer cake using rosemary powder were successfully performed within the ranges tested.