Deliciously indulgent, deceptively nutritious. How evil! -Evil Cakes slogan, UF/FSHN Product Development Team
“Guys, I think I might pass out.”
When UF/FSHN Product Development Team member Jon Lee glanced out over the crowd, he was not expecting to see so many people looking back at him. Nearly a thousand audience members at the American Society of Baking (ASB) BakingTECH conference, held in Chicago from February 28 to March 2, 2023, waited to hear what he and his three teammates had to say about Evil Cakes, the gluten-free, high-protein chocolate cake bites they had developed for the 2023 ASB Product Development Competition.
“I thought there would be twenty people listening to our presentation,” said Jon, a food science master’s degree student. “Instead, my teammates and I presented to an audience that packed the largest room at the conference.”
Their courage and hard work paid off. After months of brainstorming, baking, writing, and presenting, the team was awarded first place in the competition, beating out fellow finalists from Washington State University and Purdue University. The team members–Jon, Sharon Chuah (food science doctoral student), Evelyn Neilson (food science undergraduate student), and Santiago Cardenas Pinto (food science master’s degree student)–flew home from Chicago with a winning trophy.
From Idea to Indulgence: Developing Evil Cakes
The FSHN product development team won last year’s competition and was a finalist the prior year, so this year’s team had impressive shoes to fill. Under the experienced mentorship of Dr. Andrew MacIntosh, the students worked to create a new bakery food product. This year’s ASB competition theme was ‘Indulgence’ and required competitors to incorporate two plant-based or alternative ingredients from a list of five options.
“At first, we attempted to showcase all five attributes in our product but found ourselves struggling to effectively highlight its value,” Sharon said. “That’s when Dr. MacIntosh advised us to focus on what truly matters. Since then, our product research and development process has been yielding amazing ideas and inspiration. The advice serves as a constant reminder that simplicity is often the key to success.”
Ultimately, the FSHN team chose to design their product around plant-based protein and alternative flour.
Plant-based protein: Pea and brown rice protein blend.
Alternative flour: Rice and arrowroot flour.
The first few attempts to create a product fell flat. An alternative-flour croissant turned out the opposite of flaky, and a high-protein angel cake fell short of expectations. The team discovered that incorporating a chocolate flavor reduced the grassy taste of the plant-based protein. Not only did the chocolate add an indulgent flavor, but it also helped maintain the structure of the cake through its chocolate shell.
While describing Evil Cakes, Jon spoke about the ironic origins of the name. “We decided to call them ‘Evil Cakes’ because they’re marketed as a classic indulgent product, but they actually provide lots of benefits such as heart health, reduced environmental impact, and an enhanced nutritional profile typically deficient in other gluten-free products. And they’re the total opposite of our angel cakes!”
Testing Evil Cakes Highlights Team Members’ Strengths
The process of developing Evil Cakes and analyzing their market potential brought out the team members’ strengths. For example, Jon praised teammate Evelyn’s exceptional baking skills, while Santiago provided his vital chocolate-making experience. Sharon created a novel gelatinized arrowroot emulsifier that was key to the final structure of the cream–one of the many research-based contributions she made.
“And I was there to wash dishes,” Jon said, laughing. He also wrote much of the project’s materials and helped guide the team. “In reality, the team had four leaders. We worked long days, but it was so rewarding because everyone went into this project with the mindset of how we can make the product better, and at the same time, how we could improve. Working together was a lot of fun because it’s great to hear everyone’s ideas.”
Other team members also praised the process.
“It was an incredible feeling to see research actually work, and really well too!” Sharon said. “Developing the arrowroot emulsifier was the first time I felt a lot of confidence in my future career, particularly in pursuing a path in research and development.”
Santiago highlighted the benefits of teamwork. “Learning how to utilize everyone’s strengths and support each other in overcoming our weaknesses really set us up for success. Being such a diverse group of people resulted in exciting conversation, and our combined dynamic really contributed to our success.”
Finally, Evelyn added, “I will say, I was pretty sick of tasting chocolate cake by the end!”
The Final Ingredient? “Polish”
When describing their presentation of Evil Cakes in the ASB Product Development Competition, Jon said, “The word that comes to mind is ‘polished.'” The team paid a lot of attention to details while polishing their presentation, poster, and written materials as much as possible, taking several days to edit their proposal and make their final presentation engaging. In the end, that final effort helped the team win first place in the competition.
In their award acceptance speech, the team reflected on the process. “Receiving this award was a mix of emotions for us. While we’re honored to have been recognized, a part of us wished the project never ended–just because it’s been so much fun.”
What’s next for Evil Cakes and the award-winning UF team? Currently, the team’s cakes are a finalist in the IFTSA and MARS Product Development Competition. Over the next few months, the team will further improve their product in the run-up to the competition’s conclusion.
One thing is certain–the next time the team faces a packed auditorium, they will walk out on the stage with confidence.
Learn more about the team’s product development process in their competition video:
Check out the team’s poster about Evil Cakes:
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