Carota Fairy Cake (Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake)

Joemry Alcantara
Neth Patricia Bueno
Ethanael Xyan Dagdag
Justinne Cyan Esteves
Irish Grace Gonzales
Lois Alexha Montero
John Kelvin Morales
Tekleen Monique Raguindin

Rosario Integrated School

Rosario, La Union

Grade 8 STE

June 2021
 Acknowledgement

We, the researchers, would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude

towards everyone who helped us in completing this research. First and foremost, we

would like to thank God for His undying love and guidance. We would like to thank our

families and friends for they never fail to show us their moral support. We would like to

thank all of the teachers whom we consulted and asked advices from, especially our

Research Adviser. Lastly, we would like to thank and applaud ourselves for doing our

best and coping up to finish this study.

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Table of Contents

Abstract.............................................................................................................4

Chapter 1: Introduction.....................................................................................5

Background of the Study.......................................................................................5

Statement of the Problem......................................................................................6

Hypothesis...........................................................................................................7

Significance of the Study.......................................................................................7

Scope and Limitations...........................................................................................7

Definition of Terms...............................................................................................8

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature...........................................................9

Chapter 3: Methodology..................................................................................12

Method of Research............................................................................................12

Method of Collecting Data, Materials, and Procedure..............................................12

Sampling Design.................................................................................................15

Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation...................................16

Taste Rating.......................................................................................................16

Appearance Rating..............................................................................................18

Odor Rating........................................................................................................20

Chapter 5: Generalization...............................................................................22

Conclusion..........................................................................................................22

Chapter 6: Recommendation...........................................................................22

Bibliography....................................................................................................23

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 Abstract

The researchers made Carota Fairy Cake, a gluten-free carrot cupcake to

accommodate a wider range of consumers in this time of pandemic. Together with the
respondents, the researchers achieved their aim and their hypotheses were proven that
without the presence of gluten, Carota Fairy Cake does not greatly differ from the
regular carrot cupcake in terms of its general characteristics and even enhanced its
features. With these findings, the said product was well accepted by the people in the
community. As something as simple as baking a carrot cupcake, it could help people
who want a healthier diet to boost their immune system in this time of pandemic and
also accommodate people who have celiac disease.

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 Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

The earliest bread, according to history, was made in or around 8000 BC in the

Middle East, specifically Egypt. In the process of breadmaking, the enzyme, amylase, is

used to break down flour into soluble sugars, which are transformed by yeast into

alcohol and carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise.

Majority of the Filipinos love eating bread especially in the morning. They either

pair it with coffee or eat the bread as it is. Despite bread being a must when having an

early meal, bakeshops, also known as “panaderya”, are open throughout the day, selling

bread as dessert, “meryenda”, or “pasalubong” as local bakers create different types of

bread.

In this time of pandemic, everyone needs a healthy diet that can help

strengthening the immune system. People might give up the classic bakeshop desserts

and go for something healthier. To resolve this, the researchers wanted to create a

bakeshop dessert that boosts the immune system.

Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant that can reduce inflammation and boosts

immune function by increasing disease-fighting cells in the body. A carrot is one

excellent source of beta-carotene.

Combining bread and carrots results to a carrot cake. A variation of this is a

carrot cupcake which was made to accommodate buyers who want to purchase only a

few pieces for a certain number of individuals so they can save up money.

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 However, people with celiac disease will have an immune reaction triggered by

consuming gluten. They develop inflammation and damage in their intestinal tracts and

other parts of the body when they eat food containing gluten.

The researchers considered these and wanted to make changes in the process of

making a carrot cupcake. The researchers decided to create a gluten-free carrot

cupcake that is nutritious, cheap, and tasty, calling it “Carota Fairy Cake”. With this,

people who want a healthier diet will not need to give up bakeshop desserts and people

with celiac disease can add bakeshop goods in their diet.

Statement of the Problem

The researchers aim to determine the effect of the absence of gluten in the general

characteristics of a carrot cupcake and to determine if the product is accepted by the

people in the community.

Sub-problems:

1. General characteristics of the carrot cupcake with gluten in terms of:

a. Taste

b. Appearance

c. Odor

2. General characteristics of gluten-free carrot cupcake in terms of:

a. Taste

b. Appearance

c. Odor

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Hypothesis

The Carota Fairy Cake will taste delicious just like the regular carrot cupcakes.

The absence of gluten will not greatly affect the taste, appearance, and odor of the

product. The product will be accepted by the people in the community.

Significance of the Study

People who want a healthier diet to boost the immune system and people who

have celiac disease can be both accommodated by local bakers in this time of pandemic

with the product Carota Fairy Cake. People can also make it themselves in their own

home if they want to.

Scope and Limitations

The study will be conducted in the year of 2021, month of June until month of

July in Rosario, La Union. The focus of the study is to create Carota Fairy Cake, a

gluten-free carrot cupcake, and if it is deemed acceptable to the general public.

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Definition of Terms

● Amylase: an enzyme that converts starch and glycogen into simple sugars

● Antioxidant: a substance that removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a

living organism

● Celiac Disease: a digestive disorder triggered by gluten

● Gluten: a group of seed storage proteins found in certain cereal grains

● Pandemic: (of a disease) occurring over a wide geographic area (such as

multiple countries or continents) and typically affecting a significant proportion of

the population

● Yeast: a single-celled fungus that ferments sugar to produce alcohol and carbon

dioxide

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 Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

In the 1700s, cupcakes were originally referred to as number cakes. The first

cupcake recipe was invented in 1776. The idea behind making tiny cakes was elaborated

in ‘American Cookery’, a 1796 cookbook by Amelia Simmons. The earliest extant

description of what is now often called a cupcake was in the said cookbook, defining it

as "a light cake to bake in small cups". However, the word ‘cupcake’ itself did not come

about until 1828, when celebrated author and cooking expert Eliza Leslie published her

cookbook ‘Receipts’.

Though Leslie can be credited for cementing the first cupcake recipe, there is no

single inventor of this sweet treat. Most of the time, ‘cupcake’ was simply a name for a

measurement, much like ‘pound’ cake. The reason behind the creation of cupcakes was

to miniaturize a cake to accommodate consumers wanting a cake but also wanting to

distribute the food individually, just as what the original name suggests, number cakes.

Carrot cake is a cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter (a semiliquid

mixture of flour, egg, and milk or water).

The origins of carrot cake are disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English

recipe for "pudding in a carrot root" that is essentially a stuffed carrot with meat, but it

includes many elements common to the modern dessert: shortening, cream, eggs,

raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and

breadcrumbs (in place of flour). Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from

such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages, when sugar and

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sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.

Variations of the carrot pudding evolved to include baking with a crust (as pumpkin pie),

steamed with a sauce, or molded in pans (as plum pudding) with icing.

In volume two of L'art du cuisinier (1814), Antoine Beauvilliers, former chef to

Louis XVI, included a recipe for a "Gâteau de Carottes", which was popular enough to be

copied verbatim in competitors' cookbooks. In 1824, Beauvilliers had published in

London an English version of his cookbook which includes a recipe for "Carrot Cakes" in

a literal translation of his earlier recipe.

Another 19th-century recipe comes from the housekeeping school of Kaiseraugst

(Canton of Aargau, Switzerland). According to the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland, it is

one of the most popular cakes in Switzerland, especially for the birthdays of children.

The popularity of carrot cake was revived in the United Kingdom because of

rationing during the Second World War.

In the present time, here are some of the bakeshops and bakeries around the

world who sell the best cupcakes: Primrose Bakery in London, Billy's Bakery in New York

Cupcake STHLM in Stockholm, Van Ness Cupcakes in Amsterdam, Cups and Cakes

Bakery in San Francisco, Hummingbird Bakery in Dubai, Kyra's Bake Shop in Oregon,

Bluebells Cakery in Auckland, Magnolia Bakery in Japan, and Prohibition Bakery in New

York.

This time, here are some of the domestic bakeshops and bakeries who sell the

best cupcakes: M Bakery (Magnolia Bakery) in Taguig, Cupcakes by Sonja in Taguig

(and other branches), Vanilla Cupcake Bakery in Alabang, Muntinlupa City (and other

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branches) Frostings in Quezon City, Brownies Unlimited SM Mall branches, J Cuppacakes

in Makati City (and other branches), The Flour Girl in Pasig, Cupcake Lab PH in San

Juan, Cupcakes by Gremlins in Quezon City, and Mom & Tina’s Bakery Café in Quezon

City (and other branches).

Cupcakes have gluten in them as flour is a major ingredient. Gluten is a general

name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale – a cross between wheat

and rye. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food

together. However, people with celiac disease cannot consume gluten. Celiac disease,

sometimes called celiac sprue, non-tropical sprue, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is a

serious autoimmune disease that occurs in genetically predisposed people where the

ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. When someone with celiac

disease eats something with gluten, their body overreacts to the protein and damages

their villi, small finger-like projections found along the wall of their small intestine. When

your villi are injured, your small intestine can't properly absorb nutrients from food. This

can lead to symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating and weight loss. In

this case, not everyone can consume bakeshop products. In addition, gluten provides no

essential nutrients.

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 Chapter 3: Methodology

Method of Research

The methods that the researchers used for this study are experiments and

surveys. The researchers had a total of three (3) trials of experiment to achieve the

product and finally conducted a survey on the cupcakes from the last experiment. Due

to the existing quarantine protocols, the said experiments were done by members who

were allowed to meet each other and the process was shared to the rest of the group

on real time via messenger video call. The sampling technique used in this study was

simple random sampling. This study involves 20 residents of Brgy. Udiao, Rosario, La

Union as the respondents. The researchers confirmed with the respondents that they

have no disease that can be triggered by any ingredient of the product before

conducting the survey.

Method of Collecting Data, Materials, and Procedure

Materials:

 food mixer

 cupcake tray

 measuring tools

 spoons

 spatula

 mixing bowls

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  cupcake cases

 oven

Ingredients (Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake):

 sugar

 2 cups of gluten-free flour

 2 tsp of baking soda

 1 cup of vegetable oil

 2 tsp of baking soda

 1 tsp of salt

 1 tsp of ginger powder

 1 cup of sugar

 3 eggs

 2 and 1/2 cups of grated carrots

 2 tbsp of raisins (optional)

Ingredients (Carrot Cupcake with Gluten):

All of the ingredients for the gluten-free carrot cupcake are the same for the carrot

cupcake with gluten except for the type of flour used. The carrot cupcake with gluten

had all-purpose flour which contains gluten.

Procedure (for both cupcakes):

 In a bowl, put 2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and set aside.

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 Crack 3 eggs and put it in another bowl, mixing one at a time. Pour 1 cup of oil,

put 1 cup of sugar. Mix well. Add 2 and 1/2 cups of grated carrots, fold, and set

aside.

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 Put the two mixtures together in one bowl and mix thoroughly to make the

batter.

 Put cupcake cases in the cupcake tray. Grease the cupcake cases with oil. Add

the batter. Once it settles nicely in the cupcake case, add the raisins as toppings.

 Bake in 360° F or 180°C preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

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  Cool the cupcakes to room temperature.

Sampling Design

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 Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation

Taste Rating

A five-point scale was used to measure the taste rating of carrot cupcake with

gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake wherein:

5 = Excellent

4 = Very Satisfactory

3 = Good

2 = Fair

1 = Needs Improvement

Table 1: Comparison of the Taste Rating of the Two (2) Cupcakes

Taste Rating of Carrot Taste Rating of Gluten-Free
Cupcake with Gluten Carrot Cupcake

Rank Number of % Number of %

Participants Participants

Excellent 12 60% 17 85%

Very 4 20% 2 10%

Satisfactory

Good 4 20% 1 5%

Fair 0 0 0 0

Needs 0 0 0 0
Improvement

Total 20 100% 20 100%

Table 1 shows the TASTE rating of carrot cupcake that contains gluten and
gluten-free carrot cupcake.
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 In Taste Rating of Carrot Cupcake with Gluten (Pre-test); out of 20

(100%) respondents, 12 (60%) rated it EXCELLENT, 4 (20%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and 4 (20%) rated it GOOD.

In Taste Rating of Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake (Post-Test); out of 20

(100%) respondents, 17 (85%) rated it EXCELLENT, 2 (10%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and the 1 (5%) rated it GOOD.

Most of the ratings for gluten-free carrot cupcake are EXCELLENT.

The data above shows that the Taste of Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake is more

preferred by the respondents than the Taste of Carrot Cupcake with Gluten.

Some of the respondents wanted the product to taste a little less sweet.

Taste rating of carrot cupcake with gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake was

evaluated to measure if the absence of gluten affected the taste of the carrot cupcake in

a favorable way. Moreover, appearance is one of the general characteristics that needed

to be evaluated.

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Appearance Rating

A five-point scale was used to measure the appearance rating of carrot cupcake

with gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake wherein:

5 = Excellent

4 = Very Satisfactory

3 = Good

2 = Fair

1 = Needs Improvement

Table 2: Comparison of the Appearance Rating of the Two (2) Cupcakes

Appearance Rating of Carrot Appearance Rating of
Cupcake with Gluten Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake

Rank Number of % Number of %

Participants Participants

Excellent 2 10% 3 15%

Very 12 60% 13 65%

Satisfactory

Good 6 30% 4 20%

Fair 0 0 0 0

Needs 0 0 0 0
Improvement

Total 20 100% 20 100%

Table 2 shows the APPEARANCE rating of carrot cupcake with gluten and
gluten-free carrot cupcake.

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 In Appearance Rating of Carrot Cupcake with Gluten (Pre-test); out of

20 (100%) respondents, 2 (10%) rated it EXCELLENT, 12 (60%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and 6 (30%) rated it GOOD.

In Appearance Rating of Glute-Free Carrot Cupcake (Post-test); out of

20 (100%) respondents, 3 (15%) rated it EXCELLENT, 13 (65%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and 4 (20%) rated it GOOD.

Most of the ratings for gluten-free carrot cupcake are VERY SATISFACTORY.

The data above shows that the Appearance of Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake

is more preferred by the respondents than the Appearance of Carrot Cupcake with

Gluten.

A lot of respondents said that they have a high standard in the appearance of

the food they eat so they rated a little lower and some wanted the product to be more

colorful.

Appearance rating of carrot cupcake with gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake

was evaluated to measure if the absence of gluten affected the appearance of the carrot

cupcake in a favorable way. Moreover, appearance is one of the general characteristics

that needed to be evaluated.

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Odor Rating

A five-point scale was used to measure the odor rating of carrot cupcake with

gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake wherein:

5 = Excellent

4 = Very Satisfactory

3 = Good

2 = Fair

1 = Needs Improvement

Table 3: Comparison of the Odor Rating of the Two (2) Cupcakes

Odor Rating of Carrot Odor Rating of Gluten-Free
Cupcake with Gluten Carrot Cupcake

Rank Number of % Number of %

Participants Participants

Excellent 5 25% 10 50%

Very 3 15% 7 35%

Satisfactory

Good 12 60% 3 15%

Fair 0 0 0 0

Needs 0 0 0 0
Improvement

Total 20 100% 20 100%

Table 3 shows the odor rating of carrot cupcake with gluten and gluten-free
carrot cupcake.

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 In Odor Rating of Carrot Cupcake with Gluten (Pre-test); out of 20

(100%) respondents, 5 (25%) rated it EXCELLENT, 3 (15%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and 12 (12%) rated it GOOD.

In Odor Rating of Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake (Post-Test); out of 20

(100%) respondents, 10 (50%) rated it EXCELLENT, 7 (35%) rated it VERY

SATISFACTORY, and 3 (15%) rated it GOOD.

Most of the ratings for gluten-free carrot cupcake are EXCELLENT.

The data above shows that the Odor of Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake is more

preferred by the respondents than the Odor of Carrot Cupcake with Gluten.

Some respondents explained that the odor was actually good but it’s not their

standard so they rated a little lower.

Odor rating of carrot cupcake with gluten and gluten-free carrot cupcake was

evaluated to measure if the absence of gluten affected the odor of the carrot cupcake in

a favorable way. Moreover, odor is one of the general characteristics that needed to be

evaluated.

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 Chapter 5: Generalization

Conclusion

The researchers achieved to determine the effect of the absence of gluten in the

general characteristics of a carrot cupcake and if the product is accepted by the people

in the community. The researchers therefore conclude that the absence of gluten did

not greatly affect the general characteristics of a carrot cupcake and it even enhanced

its features more. Carota Fairy Cake is well accepted by the people in the community.

Chapter 6: Recommendation

In trying to make a gluten-free cupcake, you can choose to change any aspect;

the main ingredient (instead of carrots, anything healthy and beneficial for the body will

do), additional ingredients (toppings are optional), and more according to your liking as

long as it would prove to you that the absence of gluten does not greatly affect the

general characteristics of a cupcake. The researchers recommend a further research by

conducting more experiments in improving the general characteristics of a gluten-free

cupcake and conducting surveys with a wider and broader sample.

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 Bibliography

[1] M. Johnson, “The History of Cupcakes”, Best Friends for Frosting, 2013

[2] “A Brief History of The Cupcake”, Divine Specialties, 2017

[3] “The History of Carrot Cake”, Kitchen Project, 2020

[4] “Carrot cake”, Wikipedia, 2021

[5] A. Malin, “National Cupcake Week: World’s Best Cupcakes”, About Time Magazine,
2021

[6] K. Pangan, “10 Dessert Shops in Metro Manila for your Cupcake Fix”, ClickTheCity,
2019

[7] “What is Gluten?”, Celiac Disease Foundation, 2021

[8] M. Ratini, “Celiac Disease”, WebMD, 2020

[9] S. Bishop, “Left Untreated, Celiac Disease Can Result in Serious Complications”,
Mayo Clinic, 2012

[10] J. Kubala, “Is Gluten Bad for You? A Critical Look”, Healthline Media, 2019

[11] L. Petty, “How to Start your Own Cupcake Business”, Hub from High Speed
Training, 2019

 Reference/s
 Frances Ianna Flores, Bread de Musa with Milkeese, 2020

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