THESIS

way to achieve a healthy food product is to reduce or to omit some of the calorie-
laden ingredients, especially sugar and fat since, at present, obesity is frequently cited
as a serious health problem. At the same time, there is a constant demand for dietetic
foods suitable for diabetes, which may have the same caloric-value being also
sucrose-free since this sucrose cannot be metabolized without insulin. For this reason,
it is a challenge to develop a cake product that sucrose-free for individuals who are
intolerant to glucose (Hicsasmaz et al. 2003).
Butter cake is a complex fat and water emulsion system containing flour,
sugar, fat, eggs and baking powder. A proper combination of the ingredients can give
a high quality product with desirable flavour and texture. Shortening plays an
important role in baked products. The functions of shortening in cake were described
by several researches (Moncrieff, 1970; Howard, 1972). The major component of
flour is starch; starch properties were shown to be important in making cakes. The
functionality of starch and sugar in cake contributes structure, increase batter viscosity
and cake volume, control moisture, increase shelf life and affected to health problems.
Cake is a food well liked by consumers all over the worlds. However, due to its high
caloric content, over-consumption may contribute to obesity. Several studies suggest
that foods high in added sugar may increase the risk of diabetes. The glycaemic
indices of cake products vary continuously from about 66 to over 104 (Table 12).
Angel food cake and cub cake show a high GI (95 and 104). Banana cake, sponge
cake and cupcake, strawberry-iced give a medium GI (66 to 77). According to the
health problem related to the cake product is it important to understand the role of
food ingredients to produce low glycemic index (GI) food.
6.3.1 The role of food ingredients on low GI food
Differences in qualitative nutritional properties among starchy foods
are particularly intriguing. Elucidating the role of starch qualities in human nutrition
requires a greater understanding of how the physicochemical characteristic of food
relate to physiological properties. The relationship between the rate of starch digestion
and GI has been established by investigations of in vitro amylolytic hydrolysis
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