Abstract:In this paper, the effects of exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the foaming, surface hydrophobicity and liquid protein content of complex proteins during whipping were studied. LAB fermentation technology was applied in the production of eggless cakes and its effect on batter rheological, baking characteristic and crumb microstructure of eggless cake were evaluated. The results showed that the EPS produced by LAB significantly improved the foaming properties, increased surface hydrophobicity of complex protein and maintained the interface protein content by reducing competitive adsorption of emulsifiers during whipping. The number of bubbles increased and their distribution was more uniform in the fermented batter containing EPS produced by LAB, resulting in decrease in the batter density. Compared with the control, baking quality of the eggless cake containing EPS was significantly improved. Specific volume increased by 12.3% and the hardness decreased by 43.0%. The microstructure observation of eggless cake crumb could be concluded that protein degradation and cross-linking of EPS with protein resulted in a more continuous and uniform protein network so that the crumb structure of cake was improved. Therefore, the exopolysaccharide produced by lactic acid bacteria had a significant improvement effect on batter characteristics and baking quality of eggless cake.