When it comes to cake fillings a wide range of flavours are available for different kinds of applications – from sweet to savoury. Fillings have a big impact on the entire presentation of the product. The stabiliser system is making sure that the texture of the filling fits the product and that it stays stable over shelf life without separation.
Custard
Baked and non-baked custard is a very common filling for cakes. To come out well, the texture needs to fit the product. A custard in an English vanilla slice is more gelled and cuttable than in a German bee sting cake which is a lot creamier. For all products it is essential the custard should not crack during the baking process and the product to stay stable over shelf life to satisfy the customers.
Vegan custard fillings show a different challenge – it is achieving the same consistency and properties as the dairy version with the flavour release customers would expect in a traditional product.
Bavarois
Bavarois is a traditional cream that contains milk, egg yolk, cream and sugar and is set with gelatine. Normally flavoured with vanilla, it is often used in gateaux as well as in desserts.
Even though Bavarois is liked for its gelled texture, gelatine is not well received by most consumers. Therefore, we have worked on a gelatine free solution for bavarois.
Savoury fillings
Savoury fillings fit well to the convenience and snacking trend that has been in the market for years. There are a wide range of possibilities when it comes to savoury fillings. They can contain meat, cheese or vegetables, meat and cheese alternatives to be completely vegan. Each savoury filling comes with its own challenge depending in which area it is being used. Does it have to be ambient stable? Does it contain vegetables that might have water separation over shelf life that needs to be absorbed? How about a vegan version for a savoury filling? Are there solutions that are clean label? Is a lower fat content of a filling possible while keeping a creamy mouthfeel? Whatever it is you are looking for, we are always happy to help.
Low water fillings
A low water activity gives products a long shelf life. Microorganisms cannot survive in areas with no water activity which makes preservatives unnecessary in these kinds of products and gives ambient stability.
The low water activity is often achieved by adding a lot of fat or sugar to the product. Both ingredients are not well received in today’s market. Therefore, a reduction of these ingredients would help to improve the image of the product. This, on the other hand, would influence the shelf life of the product. By adding other dry ingredients, the water activity can be reduced at a lower fat and sugar content. Our strength is to look at recipes to find the right ingredients to maintain the long shelf life.
Be it ambient stable fillings containing dairy components or reducing fruit or fat to optimise the cost structure we can find the right solution.
