Assessment of Physicochemical and Sensory Attributes of Sponge Cake Enriched with Oyster Mushroom Powder

Background: Due to extensive popularity of cake across diverse societal groups, careful consideration of its formulation is essential for creating a health-oriented product. In this context, mushrooms are a prevalent dietary source in Asian countries and are rich in nutrients. Methods: This study investigates the effect of replacing wheat flour with oyster mushroom powder with respect to physicochemical characteristics and sensory qualities of developed sponge cake, highlighting the improvement of its nutritional value. Sponge cakes were prepared by replacing wheat flour with oyster mushroom powder at different levels of concentration i.e. F1 = 4% oyster mushroom powder; F2 = 8% oyster mushroom powder; F3 = 12% oyster mushroom powder and evaluated against F0 = control (0% oyster mushroom powder). All the samples were evaluated for their proximate compositions, color metrics and sensory attributes. Result: With the increasing concentration of oyster mushroom powder in the sponge cake formulation, the levels of moisture, ash, protein, fat and fiber considerably (p≤0.05) augmented, whereas the carbohydrate content significantly (p≤0.05) declined. Consequently, the protein content in the F3 sample was increased in comparison to the other formulations. With regard to physical characteristics, the L* index diminished as the mushroom percentage increased, whereas a* and b* color indices exhibited an increase (p≤0.05) with higher mushroom incorporation level. During sensory evaluation, sponge cake with 12% (F3) mushroom powder received the top ratings for all the sensory qualities. The current study indicated that the addition of oyster mushroom powder for partial substitution of wheat flour in sponge cake enhanced the levels of protein, fiber and ash while reducing its carbohydrate content.