Enhanced chiffon cake quality using tannic acid cross‐linked diacylglycerol oleogels as a replacement of butter

Abstract BACKGROUND In the present study, a composite comprising konjac glucomannan (KGM), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and tannic acid (TA) was employed for the fabrication of emulsion‐templated diacylglycerol oleogels (E‐DGOs). The potential use of the E‐DGOs as a 50% replacement for butter in chiffon cakes was explored, with the direct method‐prepared DG oleogels (D‐DGOs) serving as a comparison. RESULTS The rheological analysis demonstrated that the incorporation of TA (0.15 wt%) led to the enhanced thixotropic recovery characteristics in E‐DGOs. The low‐field NMR results indicated that oleogels formulated with TA facilitated the formation of a uniform matrix distribution in chiffon cakes and inhibited the migration of moisture and fat during storage. In comparison with the D‐DGO‐based cakes, the samples containing E‐DGOs exhibited superior appearance and texture. The texture score of the TA‐DGO cake was 6.44, which was similar to that of the butter cake (6.72). CONCLUSION The present study reveals that the E‐DGO‐based cakes have performance and sensory scores comparable to butter cakes. These findings provide a reference point for the construction of KGM‐HPMC‐TA based E‐DGOs as a partial replacement for butter in chiffon cakes. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.