GB2084849A - Method for producing stable cake crumbs for use in refrigerated desserts - Google Patents

Abstract

Cake crumbs are dried to a moisture content of less than 2% by weight and then coated with from 8.5% to 16% of a low melting point fat. These coated crumbs may be incorporated in a high-moisture filling phase, e.g. a pudding formulation; where they retain their crispness over a prolonged period.

Description

SPECIFICATION Method for producing stable cake crumbs for use in refrigerated desserts TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to improving the textural stability of bakery cake crumbs which are incorporated into refrigerated desserts. Refrigerated pudding products have become popular primarily due to the convenience they offer to the consumer in that no preparation, other than a possible thawing step, is required before consumption. As used in the description of this invention, refrigerated dessert products are meant to include products which may be marketed in either a frozen or merely refrigerated conditions but which are consumed from a refrigerated state. With the advent of new formulations and processing techniques, these products have been found to be tolerant to freeze-thaw cycling and/or prolonged refrigerator storage.

It is known that the desirabilty of many food products can be increased if the product contains more than one phase or layer, preferably of differing textural characteristics. Thus, desserts, such as pudding products which have a topping, contain discrete particles and/or have a crust-type layer will be preferred by some consumers over the pudding composition per se. Baked crumbs in combination with a pudding formulation can yield a highly-desirable dessert product.It is, however, difficult to preserve the textural integrity (i.e., retard sogginess) of bakery crumbs which are combined with a high-moisture dessert filling as these crumbs will become soggy upon prolonged contact with the filling at temperatures above 0 C. The development of soggy crumbs is a problem even in pudding products which are marketed in the frozen state, as these frozen products are typically marketed in multi-serving containers or multiunit cases which may be held at refrigerator storage conditions (about 4.4"C) for several days before being fully consumed.

The art is aware that it is possible to render baked goods more moisture resistant by the application of a fat coating onto the baked product. Typically, the prior art coats baked goods with a flavored (e.g., chocolate) or unflavored fatty coating in relatively large amounts, often in excess of 50% by weight of the baked good. This large amount of fatty material can be undesirable in terms of contributing increased costs, increased calories and potential off-flavors.

It has been found that the mere addition of a fat coating to bakery crumbs, such as cake crumbs, have a very limited effect on preventing the development of soggy crumbs during prolonged contact, above 0 C, between the crumbs and a high-moisture filling, such as a pudding composition.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to refrigerated dessert products which contain a highmoisture phase in combination with bakery crumbs and the process for making same. The products made in accordance with this invention may be frozen desserts which are designed to be thawed and stored in the refrigerator before being consumed or refrigeratorstable desserts. It is the prime purpose of this invention to produce bakery crumb-containing dessert products wherein the crumbs are able to retain their textural integrity during extended contact with a high-moisture filling at temperatures of above 0 C.

The refrigerated dessert products of this invention contain both a crumb phase, which may be present as distinct layers or particles, and a refrigerator-stable, high-moisture filling phase. High moisture is meant to include moisture contents in excess of 40% by weight, and the filling may be any conventional dessert composition which typically contains a mosture level of from 60 to 80% by weight. Illustrative of the dessert compositions which may be employed are pudding formulations such as set forth in U.S. Patent No.

3,669,687, whipped toppings such as set forth in U.S. Patent No. 3,431,117, cheese cake formulations, custards, fruit fillings and the like.

The products of this invention can be stored in the refrigerator for several days and the crumb phase will retain a textural integrity such that the consumer is presented with a product containing distinct, in terms of both texture and appearance, filling and crumb phases. This desirable result is brought about by drying cake-like bakery crumbs from an original moisture content in excess of 8% by weight, typically of about 10% to 35% moisture by weight to a moisture content of less than 2% by weight and then coating the dried crumbs with a fat coating in an amount less than 16% by weight of the crumbs.

The crumbs suitable for use in this invention are obtained from baked cakes which preferably have a moisture content of from about 10% to 35% by weight. Any conventional cake or brownie mix may be used and baking is conducted by conventional techniques. After baking is completed, the cake is comminuted or broken into crumbs which may then be sized to obtain a desired fraction which typically will be on the order of between 2 and 10 mm. in diameter. The desirable fraction may be conveniently arrived at by utilizing standard screening techniques.

The cake crumbs may be dried in any convenient manner, typically with an oven.

Normally, the crumbs will be dried as a relatively static bed which may either be on a tray which is placed into an oven or on a moving belt which is passed through a tunnel oven.

Use of fluidized bed drying will generally be avoided, as this could result in attrition of the crumbs and the development of an excessive quantity of fine particles. It would also be possible to dry the cake first and then comminute, such as by grinding, the dried cake and screen the resulting particles to obtain the desired particle size fraction.

After the crumbs are sized and dried, they are coated with a fat in the amount of from 8% to 16% by weight of the crumbs. The fat may be any vegetable fat or hydrogenated vegetable oil having a melting point below 1 20 F (49QC). Suitable materials are hydrogenated coconut oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hydrogenated cottonseed oil and the like. The fat will be heated to above its melting point and then applied aE a uniform coating to the crumbs. Spraying, rapid immersion or other conventional means may be used to apply the fat coating.

The crumbs produced in accordance with this invention maintain their textural integrity for a period of several days or more when in contact with an unfrozen, high-moisture filling composition. The particulate crumbs of this invention are, therefore, highly suitable for use in refrigerated pudding products. The dried and fat-coated crumbs of this invention may be combined with any high-moisture filling composition and may be merely blended with a filling phase or layered into a container to form a distinct layer of crumbs beneath, in the middle of and/or on top of the filling phase. These crumbs have been found to be stable; that is they retain a high degree of textural integrity and do not become unacceptably soggy while in direct contact with the filling composition, either during frozen storage, freeze-thaw cycling or regrigerator storage periods of several days or more.The crumbs will usually make up froni 10% to 60% by weight of the dessert, preferably from 20% to 40% by weight.

It has been found that merely producing low-moisture bakery crumbs, such as cookie crumbs, which can have a moisture content as low as 2%, and subsequently coating these crumbs with fat does not retard the onset of sogginess as well as the method of this invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE IN VENTION The criticality of moisture level and fatcoating level requirements of the crumbs was determined by conducting the evaluations below. In all instances, the starting crumb material was obtained by preparing brownies from a commercial brownie mix. The brownies were crumbled and sieved, and the fraction passing through a U.S. Standard Sieve No. 3.5 and held on a U.S. Standard Sieve No. 7 were utilized.

For determining the proper moisture content, the undried crumbs (about 10% moisture) were placed in a vacuum oven set at 75 5 C and 0-87 to 0 93 atmospheres and dried for varying times as shown in Table I.

TABLE I Drying Time % Moisture (minutes) (by weight) 30 6.8 33 5.6 37 3.8 50 2.8 90 1.8 120 1.0 The crumbs were immediately coated following drying with 15% by weight hydrogenated coconut-palm kernel oil. The fat was melted and sprayed onto the crumbs at 70"C.

These crumbs, along with undried, uncoated crumbs to serve as a control, were then used as the bottom and top layers of a three-layer dessert which had a pudding phase between the two crumb layers. The desserts were frozen for 24 hours at about - 20"C and then refrigerated at about 4"C. After one day of refrigerator storage, the undried, uncoated control crumbs were soggy and there was some progressive decrease in crumb texture in both the top and bottom layers from the 1% to the 6.8% moisture level samples. Evaluation of the bottom crumb layers after two, five and six days of regrigerator storage found that the 1% and 1.8% moisture level samples were judged to be more texturally intact, less soggy and more acceptable organoleptically than the 2.8% or higher moisture level samples.

The criticality of the fat coating level requirement was assessed by coating brownie crumbs which had been dried from 12.4% moisture to 2% moisture in.75 minutes at about 1 20 C. The dried crumbs were coated with hydrogenated coconut-palm kernel oil at the 4.5%, 6.5%, 8.5%, 10.5% and 16% levels and again used in three-layer desserts which were frozen for 24 hours and then stored in a refrigerator. After three, four and seven days of refrigerator storage, the 16%, 10.5% and 8.5% fat-coated crumbs were slightly soggy but possessed acceptable textural characteristics. The 6.5% and 4.5% fatcoated samples were unacceptably soggy by day seven. Further work has shown that increasing the fat-coating level above 16% does not render the crumbs more resistant to sogginess. The preferred range of fat coating has been found to be from 10.5% to 16% by weight.

Claims (9)

1. A method for preparing a refrigerator stable dessert product containing a high-moisture filling phase in contact with bakery crumbs, said steps comprising: (a) preparing a leavened, baked, cake-like product having a moisture content in excess of 8% by weight; thereafter, (b) drying and comminuting the cake such that crumbs having a moisture content of less than 2% by weight are obtained; (c) coating the dried crumbs with from 8.5% to 16% by weight of the crumbs with a melted vegetable fat having a melting point between 70"F and 120'F;; (d) combining the coated crumbs with a high-moisture filling phase which has a moisture content in excess of 40% by weight such that the crumbs are in direct contact with the filling and are present at a level of from 10% to 60% by weight of the dessert product.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein the crumbs are dispersed throughout the filling phase.

3. The method of Claim 1 wherein the coated crumbs are placed as a distinct layer within the filling phase.

4. The method of Claim 3 wherein the coated crumbs are placed as a bottom layer in a container and the filling phase is placed over this bottom layer.

5. The method of Claims 1, 3 or 4 wherein a layer of the coated crumbs is placed on top of the filling phase.

6. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 5 wherein the moisture content of the filling is between 60% and 80% by weight.

7. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the moisture content of the baked, cake-like product is from 10% to 35% by weight.

8. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the composition of step (d) is frozen.

9. A refrigerated dessert produced by the process of Claim 1.