effect of incorporating raw and stabilized wheat germ on the quality characteristics of pan cake

wheat germ is a by-product of milling industry rich in fiber, tocopherol, unsaturated fatty acids, polyphenol, minerals and protein. in this study, effect of adding raw and stabilized wheat germ on the characteristics of cake batter such as specific gravity, viscosity and cake properties such as volume, apparent density, solid density, porosity, water activity, moisture and firmness was studied. raw wheat germ was stabilized by steaming for 15 min and subsequent drying at 80 °c for 20 min. it was then ground and added to cake formulation at levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 % (on flour wet basis). results showed that adding wheat germ changed the characteristics of cake batter. with increasing amount of raw and stabilized wheat germ, specific gravity and viscosity of cake batter increased and reduced, respectively. important difference was observed in the physical characteristics between wheat germ enriched and control cakes. increasing wheat germ in cake formulation decreased cake volume and porosity, while apparent and solid densities were increased. investigation of moisture content and firmness, in several days of storage, showed that the cakes enriched with raw germ had the higher moisture content than those enriched with stabilized germ. cakes enriched with stabilized wheat germ had the highest firmness. incorporation of stabilized wheat germ by controlling its detrimental effects relating to lipase activity which leads to fat rancidity, could favor production of a functional cake with improved nutritional properties.