Investigation of the effects of using quinoa flour on gluten-free cake batters and cake properties.

This study aimed to determine the influence of substituting rice flour and potato starch with quinoa flour at different levels on the rheological properties of batters and physical, chemical properties and quality parameters of gluten-free cakes. Substituting rice flour and potato starch with quinoa flour resulted in an increase in the batter density. Rheological analysis showed that, Power Law model is the most suitable model to represent the flow behavior of cake batters and the batters exhibited solid-like behavior with the exception of the sample without quinoa flour. Also elastic modulus (G') and viscous modulus (G″) of the batters increased with quinoa flour substitution in the frequency range of 0.01-10 Hz. In addition to this, according to the temperature sweep test results, quinoa flour addition increased the mechanical strength of the batters. Physical, chemical properties and quality parameters of the cakes were significantly improved by quinoa flour substitution. In general, volume of the cakes increased but hardness values of the cake crumbs decreased with the increase in quinoa flour substitution. The cake, produced with 50% quinoa flour, had the highest scores for both taste and overall acceptability.