Confectionery products

Abstract

The present invention relates to a confectionery product comprising a filling cream layer. The present invention relates to a method that can be used for the preparation of such a confectionery product.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a confectionery product comprising a filling cream layer. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for preparing such a confectionery product.

[0002] [Background technology] Confectionery products comprising one or more layers of filling cream are known, for example, wafer sandwiches comprising two or more wafer layers with one or more layers of filling cream sandwiched between wafers. The filling cream layers generally comprise one or more fats and one or more sweeteners, which serve to provide flavor and mouthfeel variations as well as to improve the quality and consumer acceptance of the final confectionery product. Known confectionery products typically comprise a thin layer of filling cream sandwiched between thin edible substrate layers, such as thin wafer layers. To provide the final confectionery product, multiple thin layers of filling cream are typically sandwiched between alternating layers of edible substrate, such as wafers. Such confectionery products are typically produced by book-cutting (i.e., book-cut products), in which a large sheet of edible (typically baked) substrate is coated with a filling cream, which is then covered with a second sheet of edible substrate, and the process is repeated to produce a "book" comprising alternating layers of edible substrate and cream, with the edible substrate layer on the outside. The book is then cut into multiple cut products. The cut product may itself be the final confectionery product, or optionally the cut product may be further processed (e.g., adding a chocolate coating) to produce a confectionery product.

[0003] The method for preparing such confectionery products, which includes a filling cream sandwiched between two edible substrate layers, is typically limited in terms of the depth / thickness of the filling cream layer.In particular, attempts to increase the depth of the filling cream layer have proven to be particularly challenging, since the filling cream is difficult to adhere.The difficulty in adhesion causes delamination during the book-cut process, which generates a large amount of waste product during the process, making such a process unsuitable for commercial large-scale production.

[0004] A thicker filling cream layer may be desirable to provide consumers with a confectionery product with a more desirable, luxurious or indulgent mouthfeel, texture and / or taste. However, known methods for producing confectionery products with a thick filling cream layer have been found to have difficulties when attempting to achieve a thicker filling cream layer (e.g., 3.5 mm or more). To achieve optimal adhesion, it is desirable to reduce fat crystallization before laminating the filling cream onto the edible substrate. However, until now, control of fat crystallization at this stage has been achieved by maintaining the filling cream at a relatively high temperature when applied to the substrate. At the relatively high temperatures used in conventional methods to ensure adequate control of fat crystallization, the viscosity of the filling cream is too low, and the filling cream runs off the edge of the substrate during lamination or is compressed when a second edible substrate layer is applied over the first edible substrate layer. These events result in a large amount of wasted filling cream, as well as difficulties in downstream processing of the confectionery product due to inconsistent layer heights, and additional costs in removing the filling cream from the manufacturing equipment. If the temperature is too low, problems with lamination and delamination, as well as blocking of the lamination device may be encountered. Therefore, such a method is typically used for thin filling cream layers (such as less than 1.0 mm). As mentioned above, the resulting product is typically composed of multiple edible substrate layers and such a thin filling cream layer.

[0005] However, as mentioned above, in certain premium products, confectionery products with thicker filling cream layers are desirable because consumers generally perceive such products with thicker cream layers as more indulgent and luxurious. Thus, there continues to be a need for new and improved methods of producing such confectionery products with thick filling cream layers without the aforementioned problems and without excessive waste.

[0006] The applicant has surprisingly found through extensive research that a method of cooling the filling cream mixture under certain conditions can provide a cooled filling cream mixture with sufficient viscosity to effectively layer and provide a thick filling cream layer, minimizing or avoiding delamination, thereby reducing waste. Thus, the disclosed method can produce confectionery products with significantly thicker filling cream.

[0007] [Summary of the invention] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for preparing a confectionery product comprising a filling cream layer, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a filling cream mixture comprising one or more added fats, one or more added sweeteners, and optionally one or more flavorings; (b) stirring and heating the mixture to a temperature of at least 55°C to provide a heated filling cream mixture; (c) The heated mixture is cooled at a rate of less than 5°C / min and 1 s -1 ~250s -1 and cooling to a temperature of 20°C to 45°C to provide a cooled filling cream mixture having a viscosity of at least 6000 cP; (d) applying the cooled filling cream mixture onto a first edible substrate to form a filling cream layer having a thickness of at least 3.5 mm; (e) placing a second edible substrate on the filling cream layer to form a book; (f) cutting the book to form a plurality of cut products and optionally processing the cut products to form the confectionery products. A method is provided.

[0008] The present invention further provides a confectionery product, wherein the confectionery product is produced by the method according to the first aspect.

[0009] A book-cut confectionery product, the confectionery product comprising two or more edible substrate layers and one or more filling cream layers between the edible substrate layers, one or more filling cream layers comprising one or more added fats, one or more sugars, and optionally one or more flavorings; The one or more filling cream layers have a thickness of at least 3.5 mm; There is further provided a book-cut confectionery product, wherein the edible substrate layer and the one or more filling cream layers are as defined herein.

[0010] [Mode for carrying out the invention] As used herein, weights are given as weight percentages unless otherwise indicated.

[0011] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, viscosity measurements refer to measurements taken at a particular temperature.

[0012] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term "added sweetener" or "added sugar" has its standard meaning in the art and refers to a sweetener or sugar that is not inherently present in other raw materials. Consistent with the art-recognized meaning, naturally occurring sugars are found naturally in foods such as cocoa, fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Thus, added sugar refers to a sugar or sweetener that is placed into a food product during preparation or processing.

[0013] For example, the US FDA defines added sugars as "sugars that are either added during the processing of foods or packaged as sugars" and includes sugars (free, monosaccharides and disaccharides), syrups, naturally occurring sugars isolated from whole foods and concentrated so that sugar is the predominant component (e.g. fruit juice concentrates), and other caloric sweeteners.

[0014] The added fat ingredient in the filling cream layer may be defined by a particular weight or weight range of solid fat, trans fat or saturated fatty acid per 100g, meaning that the content of solid fat, trans fat or saturated fatty acid in the added fat ingredient is present at that weight or weight range for that added fat ingredient.

[0015] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term "added fat" refers to fat that is not inherently present in other ingredients such as flavors (e.g., cocoa powder contains fat).

[0016] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term "added water" refers to water that is not inherently present in the other ingredients.

[0017] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term "book cut" refers to a method and corresponding product in which a "slab" (i.e., a "book") of confectionery product is prepared (e.g., a confectionery product comprising at least one filled cream layer sandwiched between two layers of edible substrate) and cut to form a multi-unit confectionery product. Book cut confectionery products are distinguished from, for example, cream filled confectionery products (such as cream filled biscuits) in that in cream filled confectionery products, a cream filling is applied to each individual unit substrate (e.g., biscuit). In general, the filling in such cream filled biscuits is typically applied only to the center of the biscuit layer and is not distributed over the entire surface of the biscuit layer (e.g., all the way to the edges). Typically, book cut products include a filling cream that is evenly spread over the edges of the substrate layer.

[0018] Filling cream mixture According to any embodiment of the present invention, the filling cream mixture comprises one or more added fats, one or more added sweeteners, and optionally one or more flavorings. The filling cream preferably does not contain added water. In a preferred embodiment, the filling cream mixture is substantially free of water. Preferably, the filling cream mixture comprises less than 5% by weight of water, preferably less than 4% by weight of water, more preferably less than 3% by weight of water, particularly less than 2% by weight of water, most particularly less than 1% by weight of water.

[0019] Fats and Added Fats Within the context of the present invention, the term "fat" as used herein refers to a hydrophobic material that is also edible. A fat is thus an edible material that is substantially immiscible with water and may comprise one or more solid fat(s), liquid oil(s) and / or any suitable mixture(s) thereof. The term "solid fat" refers to an edible fat that is solid at a specified temperature, and the terms "oil" or "liquid oil" both refer to an edible oil that is liquid at a specified temperature (unless the context dictates otherwise).

[0020] In one embodiment, the filling cream mixture has a total fat content of 20% to 45% by weight, preferably 30% to 35% by weight, most preferably about 33% by weight. In one embodiment, the filling cream mixture comprises 15% to 40% by weight, preferably 25% to 35% by weight, most preferably 28% to 32% by weight of one or more added fats. It is understood that the total amount of fat in the filling cream mixture may not be the same as the total amount of added fat due to the presence of small amounts of fat in other optional components of the filling cream mixture, e.g. chocolate.

[0021] In one embodiment, the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 20° C. of from 15g / 100g to 60g / 100g, preferably from 20g / 100g to 50g / 100g, most preferably from 25g / 100g to 35g / 100g.

[0022] In one embodiment the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 25° C. of from 10g / 100g to 50g / 100g, preferably from 15g / 100g to 40g / 100g, most preferably from 16g / 100g to 26g / 100g.

[0023] In one embodiment, the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 30° C. of from 5g / 100g to 30g / 100g, preferably from 10g / 100g to 25g / 100g, most preferably from 10g / 100g to 18g / 100g.

[0024] In one embodiment, the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 35° C. of from 2g / 100g to 20g / 100g, preferably from 4g / 100g to 15g / 100g, most preferably from 6g / 100g to 12g / 100g.

[0025] In particularly preferred embodiments, the one or more added fats have the above mentioned solid fat content at 20°C, the above mentioned solid fat content at 25°C, the above mentioned solid fat content at 30°C, and the above mentioned solid fat content at 35°C.

[0026] The solid fat content of one or more added fats is determined by pulsed NMR according to ISO 8292-1:2008 ("Animal and vegetable fats and oils - Determination of solid fat content by pulsed NMR - Part 1: Direct method"), measurement protocol 1D, parallel method.

[0027] In one embodiment, the one or more added fats comprise between 30g / 100g and 70g / 100g saturated fatty acids, preferably between 40 and 60g / 100g saturated fatty acids, more preferably between 40g / 100g and 50g / 100g or between 40g / 100g and 45g / 100g, most preferably about 43g / 100g saturated fatty acids. In one embodiment, the one or more added fats comprise less than 2g / 100g trans fat, preferably less than 1g / 100g trans fat. In one embodiment, the one or more added fats are interesterified. In one embodiment, the one or more added fats comprise palm oil, preferably interesterified palm oil.

[0028] added sweetener The filling cream mixture of the present invention comprises one or more added sweeteners. In one embodiment, the one or more added sweeteners comprise sugars (preferably selected from sucrose, glucose (dextrose monohydrate or anhydrous), galactose, lactose, maltose, fructose, corn syrup, and polydextrose) and / or polyols (preferably selected from sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, xylitol, or erythritol).

[0029] In one embodiment, the one or more added sweeteners include monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides. Preferred monosaccharides include fructose, glucose (dextrose monohydrate or anhydrous), and / or galactose. Preferred disaccharides include sugars of any particle size (sucrose) (powdered, white, or granulated), lactose, and / or maltose.

[0030] Preferred polysaccharides include starch from any suitable source (e.g., corn, wheat, potato, or similar well-known sources); high amylose starch; hydrolyzed starches (e.g., dextrins and / or maltodextrins), pregelatinized starches; native or modified starches; isomaltose, maltulose, mannose, ribose, galactose, trehalose; starch derivatives, such as glucose syrup with a DE greater than 20, maltodextrins with a DE less than 20; polydextrose; and mixtures thereof.

[0031] In one embodiment, the one or more added sweeteners comprise a polyol, preferably selected from sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, xylitol or erythritol.

[0032] Preferably, the one or more added sweeteners comprise a monosaccharide or disaccharide. In a preferred embodiment, the one or more added sweeteners comprise a sugar (sucrose). In a particularly preferred embodiment, the one or more added sweeteners comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of a sugar (sucrose).

[0033] In one embodiment the mixture comprises from 30% to 65%, preferably from 40% to 60%, most preferably from 45% to 60% by weight of one or more added sweeteners.

[0034] Other Ingredients In one embodiment, the filling cream mixture comprises wafer rework. The term "rework wafer" as used herein is understood to have its standard meaning of wafer pieces or wafer scraps that are recovered from the cutting and processing of wafer books into the final confectionery product. In a preferred embodiment, the filling cream mixture comprises rework wafers in an amount of 3% to 20% by weight, more preferably 5% to 15% by weight.

[0035] The filling cream mixture may optionally contain one or more flavors, depending on the particular flavor desired in the final confectionery product, including, but not limited to, cocoa powder, chocolate, cream powder, cheese powder, milk powder, salt, maltodextrin, skim milk powder, full cream milk powder (FCMP), whey powder, natural or synthetic flavors, and natural or artificial colors.

[0036] Preparation of the chilled filling cream mixture A method of preparing a cooled filling cream mixture to be applied to an edible substrate comprises first agitating and heating an initial filling cream mixture to a temperature of at least 55° C. to provide a heated filling cream mixture. Preferably, the mixture is heated to a temperature of 55° C. to 80° C., 60° C. to 70° C., 62° C. to 68° C., 64° C. to 66° C., most preferably about 65° C. This heating and agitation step is intended to ensure substantially complete melting or complete melting of the fat in the filling cream mixture.

[0037] The heated filling cream mixture is then stirred and cooled at a rate of less than 5° C. / min and 1 s -1 ~250s -1 The mixture is cooled to a temperature of 20°C to 45°C at a shear rate of 100°C. Conventionally, cooling is performed at a faster rate and stirring is performed at a higher shear rate. The inventors have surprisingly found that the degree of fat crystallization during the cooling process is significantly reduced at low cooling rates and low shear rates compared to conventional methods, which in turn results in a cooled filling cream mixture with a viscosity suitable for application to an edible substrate (such as a wafer sheet) to provide a thick filling cream layer. The method of the present invention can also advantageously reduce or improve waste due to delamination. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the lower shear rate reduces the level of crystal formation because fewer fat crystals come into contact with the cold surface of the heat exchanger.

[0038] In some embodiments, the heated filling cream mixture is cooled to a temperature of 30° C. to 40° C., preferably 32° C. to 38° C., more preferably 34° C. to 36° C. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the mixture is cooled to a temperature of about 35° C.

[0039] In some embodiments, the shear rate is 1 s -1 ~200s -1 , preferably 1s -1 ~100s -1 , more preferably 1s -1 ~50s -1 In a particularly preferred embodiment, the shear rate is 1 s -1 ~20s -1 , 1s -1 ~10s -1 , 3s -1 ~7s -1 , or 4s -1 ~6s -1 In the most preferred embodiment, the shear rate is about 5 s -1 It is.

[0040] In some embodiments, the heated mixture is cooled to an intermediate temperature in a first heat exchanger and subsequently further cooled to the lamination temperature in a second heat exchanger. In such embodiments, the intermediate temperature may be preferably between 40°C and 60°C, more preferably between 45°C and 55°C, and most preferably about 50°C.

[0041] In some embodiments, the heated mixture is cooled at a rate of less than 5° C. / min, less than 4° C. / min, preferably less than 3° C. / min, more preferably less than 2.5° C. / min. In particularly preferred embodiments, the heated mixture is cooled at a rate of 0.5-5° C. / min, preferably 1-3° C. / min, more preferably 1-2.5° C. / min.

[0042] The viscosity of the cooled filling cream mixture at the cooled temperature is at least 6000 cP (1 cP = 1 mPa·s). Preferably, the cooled filling cream mixture has a viscosity of 6000 cP to 15000 cP. In some embodiments, the cooled filling cream mixture has a viscosity of 7000 cP to 14000 cP, 7000 cP to 13000 cP, 7000 cP to 12000 cP, 7000 cP to 11000 cP, 8000 cP to 11000 cP, 9000 cP to 11000 cP. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the viscosity of the cooled filling cream mixture (i.e., at the cooled temperature) is about 10000 cP.

[0043] As shown by the comparative example, when the cream viscosity is less than 6000 cP, it is impossible to achieve the desired cream filling height, and the cream leaks sideways when applied to the edible substrate. When it exceeds 15000 cP, the cream becomes too thick and cannot be layered well, which causes problems during processing (such as machine blocking). Moreover, when it exceeds 15000 cP, the cream cannot flow properly, which causes delamination between the cream and the edible substrate.

[0044] Preferably, the viscosity was measured using an Anton Paar Physica MCR302 rheometer equipped with a PP75 / s (sandblasted probe) geometry and the following method: The plate height was reduced to 1 mm when the sample was inserted before the test started. Viscosity was measured using the following method: The sample was inserted for a first interval of 5 s. -1 The sample was held at the starting temperature (65°C for 30 min) with a shear rate of 100 s. The shear rate is entered into the rheometer as a parameter controlled by the rheometer. In the next interval, the sample was cooled from 65°C to 35°C with a cooling rate of 3°C / min. In the last interval, the sample was cooled at 35°C for 5 s. -1 The viscosity was measured while maintaining the shear rate at .

[0045] edible base material The term "edible substrate" is understood to refer to any material suitable for eating, onto which a filling cream mixture can be applied to form a layer.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment, the edible substrate is a baked food. The baked food is typically sweet, although it may contain a small amount of sugar as discussed herein, or may be savory in some cases. A preferred baked food includes baked cereal foods, including foods containing cereals and / or legumes. Baked cereal foods are more preferred, and most preferably baked wheat foods, such as wafers and / or biscuits. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the baked food is a wafer sheet. When the edible substrate is a wafer sheet, the thickness of the filling cream layer is preferably measured between the cores of the wafer sheet.

[0047] Wafers are baked products made from wafer batter that have a combination of crispness, brittleness and fragility. Wafers are thin, usually less than 1-4 mm in overall thickness, with a typical product density of 0.1-0.3 g / cm. 3 The surface may be precisely contoured to conform to the contours of the surface between the plates on which the wafer is baked. Wafers often have a pattern on one or both sides. Wafers may be produced by extrusion. Two basic types of wafers are described by KF Tiefenbacher in "Encyclopaedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition p417-420-Academic Press Ltd London-1993".

[0048] 1) Sugar-free or low-sugar wafers. The finished biscuits contain zero to low amounts of sucrose or other sugars. Typical products are flat, hollow wafer sheets, moulded cone shapes or decorative shapes.

[0049] 2) Polysaccharide wafers. More than 10% sucrose or other sugars contribute to the plasticity of the baked sheets. The baked sheets can be formed into different shapes before sugar recrystallization occurs. Typical products are formed and rolled sugar cones, rolled wafer sticks, and deep-formed decorative shapes.

[0050] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the confectionery product consists of a layer of filling cream sandwiched between two wafer layers. As mentioned above, the confectionery product of the present invention is book cut, i.e. formed by cutting a larger product (i.e. a book) into a number of smaller pieces. In a preferred embodiment, further processing of the cut book comprises enrobing each of the pieces with chocolate.

[0051] Confectionery product stacking According to the present invention, the cooled filling cream mixture is applied onto a first edible substrate to form a filling cream layer having a thickness of at least 3.5 mm. A second edible substrate is then placed onto the filling cream layer to form a "book", i.e., a product comprising a filling cream layer sandwiched between two edible substrate layers (i.e., S1-FC-S2, where S1 and S2 are the first and second substrate layers, and FC is the filling cream layer). As used herein, the term "book" may include two or more edible substrate layers with one or more filling cream layers sandwiched between each edible substrate layer. Such a book may consist of two edible substrate layers and one filling cream layer, or may consist of multiple filling cream layers. For example, the book may have two filling cream layers (e.g., S1-FC1-S2-FC2, or S1-FC1-S2-FC2-S3), three filling cream layers (e.g., S1-FC1-S2-FC2-S3-FC3-S4, or S1-FC1-S2-FC2-S3-FC3-S4), four filling cream layers (e.g., S1-FC1-S2-FC2-S3-FC 3- S4-FC4 or S1-FC1-S2-FC2-S3-FC 3-S4-FC4-S5), or more than four filling cream layers. n may be the same or different (preferably the same), and when multiple filling cream layers are used, each filling layer may be the same or different (e.g., different flavors and / or different thicknesses). When multiple filling cream layers are used, it should be noted that at least one of the filling cream layers has a thickness of at least 3.5 mm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the filling cream is 3.5 mm to 15.0 mm, 3.5 mm to 12 mm, 3.5 mm to 10 mm, 3.5 mm to 8 mm, 3.5 mm to 6 mm, and other filling layers may be thinner (e.g., less than 3.5 mm). In a particularly preferred embodiment, at least one of the filling cream layers has a thickness of 3.5 mm or more (preferably 3.5 mm to 5.0 mm, more preferably 3.8 mm to 4.8 mm, particularly 3.9 mm to 4.5 mm, most preferably 4.0 mm to 4.2 mm), and other filling layers may be thinner (e.g., less than 3.5 mm).

[0052] Preferably, the confectionery product of the present invention comprises one or two filling cream layers, more preferably one filling cream layer. Following an optional cooling process, the book is cut into multiple units of the confectionery product. Alternatively, the multiple units may be optionally further processed (e.g., by enrobing with chocolate) to form the final confectionery product.

[0053] If the book is cooled before being cut, cooling may be carried out at a temperature of from 5°C to 20°C, preferably from 10°C to 15°C, and most preferably at about 12°C.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the filling cream layer has a thickness of 3.8 mm to 14.0 mm, preferably 3.9 mm to 13.0 mm, preferably 4.0 mm to 12 mm, preferably 4 mm to 10 mm, preferably 4 mm to 8 mm, more preferably 4 mm to 6 mm. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the filling cream layer has a thickness of 3.5 mm to 5.0 mm, preferably 3.8 mm to 4.8 mm, preferably 3.9 mm to 4.5 mm, more preferably 4.0 mm to 4.2 mm. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the filling cream layer has a thickness of about 4.0 mm.

[0055] In some embodiments, the method of the present invention further comprises applying the cooled filling cream mixture to a second edible substrate to form a second filling cream layer, and placing a third edible substrate on the second filling cream layer to form a multi-layered book. These two steps may be optionally repeated to provide three or more filling cream layers sandwiched between edible substrate layers. In this way, confectionery products with multiple filling cream layers as described above can be produced.

[0056] Confectionery products In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a book-cut confectionery product comprising two or more edible substrate layers and one or more filling cream layers between the edible substrate layers, wherein the one or more filling cream layers comprise one or more added fats, one or more sugars and optionally one or more flavorings, the one or more filling cream layers having a thickness of at least 3.5 mm, and the one or more filling cream layers are as defined above.

[0057] As can be understood from the above disclosure, a "book-cut" confectionery product refers to a product obtained by cutting a book composed of one or more filling cream layers and two or more edible substrate layers as described above. The book-cut confectionery product is characterized in that the filling cream layers extend to the edges of the edible substrate layers, creating a substantially uniform edge.

[0058] The edible substrate layer is preferably a baked good, preferably a wafer.

[0059] A preferred book-cut confectionery product according to the present invention comprises the laminated substrate and the filling cream structure described above, coated with chocolate. More preferably, the book-cut confectionery product according to the present invention comprises the laminated wafer and the filling cream structure described above (preferably wafer-filling cream-wafer structure), coated with chocolate.

[0060] [Example] The present invention will be further understood by the following examples, which are illustrative in nature and should not be construed as limiting the subject matter of the present disclosure.

[0061] Four different initial filling cream mixtures with different flavors were formulated, the ingredients are shown in Table 1 below. All mixtures had a total fat content of 33% by weight.

[0062] [Table 1]

[0063] The properties of added fat IV56ie are shown below in Table 2. As mentioned above, the solid fat content is determined by pulsed NMR according to ISO 8292-1:2008 ("Animal and vegetable fats and oils - Determination of solid fat content by pulsed NMR - Part 1: Direct method"), measurement protocol 1D, parallel method.

[0064] [Table 2]

[0065] The filling cream mixture was heated to 65° C. with stirring in a jacketed tank. The mixture was then cooled in the first heat exchanger (T100 heat exchanger, IBC Technologies) at a cooling rate of 1° C. / min and 5 s -1 The filling cream mixture was then further cooled in a second heat exchanger (T450 heat exchanger, IBC Technologies) at a cooling rate of 1°C / min to a temperature of 35°C. The resulting cooled filling cream mixture was measured to have a viscosity of about 10000 cP. This viscosity allowed the mixture to be successfully applied onto a wafer sheet to obtain a filling cream layer with a thickness of about 4.0 mm. A second wafer sheet was applied on top of the filling cream layer to form a wafer book. The wafer book was cooled at 12°C for 22 minutes and subsequently cut to provide a book-cut confectionery product with a filling cream layer with a thickness of 4.0 mm, which is greater than the thickness achievable using conventional methods.

[0066] The viscosity was measured using an Anton Paar Physica MCR302 rheometer equipped with a PP75 / s (sandblasted probe) geometry and the following method: The plate height was reduced to 1 mm when the sample was inserted before the test started. The viscosity was measured using the following method: The sample was inserted for a first interval of 5 s. -1 The sample was held at the starting temperature (65°C for 30 min) with a shear rate of 100 s. The shear rate is entered into the rheometer as a parameter controlled by the machine. In the next interval, the sample was cooled from 65°C to 35°C with a cooling rate of 3°C / min. In the last interval, the sample was cooled at 35°C for 5 s. -1 The viscosity was measured while maintaining the shear rate at .

[0067] Comparative Example 1 The salted caramel filling was prepared according to Table 1. -1When cooled faster than 5°C / min at shear rates above 100°C, the viscosity at lamination was less than 5000 cP, which resulted in the cream not being able to solidify properly and the thickness of the filling cream layer was less than the minimum target height of 3.5 mm.

[0068] Comparative Example 2 Three different filling cream mixtures with different flavors were formulated, the ingredients of which are shown in Table 3 below.

[0069] [Table 3]

[0070] These fillings were heated to 45°C to prepare a heated filling cream mixture, which was then sent to a mixing unit at 45°C. The heated cream mixture was then laminated onto a wafer sheet, cooled in a spiral cooler at 10°C for 15 minutes, and cut into books. The resulting wafer books had excessive delamination and loss of cream filling height due to insufficient solidification of the cream after cooling. Thus, a too low initial heating temperature and non-gradual cooling provided an unsuitable product.

[0071] Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are further described by reference to the following numbered clauses. 1. A method for preparing a confectionery product comprising a filling cream layer, comprising: (a) providing a filling cream mixture comprising one or more added fats, one or more added sweeteners, and optionally one or more flavorings; (b) stirring and heating the mixture to a temperature of at least 55°C to provide a heated filling cream mixture; (c) cooling the heated mixture at a rate of less than 5° C. / min and 1 s -1 ~250s -1and cooling to a temperature of 20°C to 45°C to provide a cooled filling cream mixture having a viscosity of at least 6000 cP; (d) applying the cooled filling cream mixture onto a first edible substrate to form a filling cream layer having a thickness of at least 3.5 mm; (e) placing a second edible substrate on the filling cream layer to form a book; (f) cutting the book to form a plurality of cut products and optionally processing the cut products to form confectionery products. 2. Step (e) is (ei) applying the cooled filling cream mixture to the second edible substrate to form a second filling cream layer; (e-ii) placing a third edible substrate on the second filling cream layer to form a multi-layer book; (e-iii) optionally repeating (ei) and (e-ii) one or more times. 3. The method according to clause 1 or clause 2, wherein the edible substrate is a baked food product, preferably a wafer sheet. 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, further comprising cooling the book prior to step (f). 5. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein cooling the book or stack of two or more books is carried out at a temperature between 5°C and 20°C, preferably between 10°C and 15°C, most preferably at about 12°C. 6. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the mixture has a total fat content of 20% to 45% by weight, preferably 30% to 35% by weight, most preferably about 33% by weight. 7. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the mixture comprises 15% to 40% by weight, preferably 25% to 35% by weight, most preferably 28% to 32% by weight of the one or more added fats. 8. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 20°C of from 15g / 100g to 60g / 100g, preferably from 20g / 100g to 50g / 100g, most preferably from 25g / 100g to 35g / 100g. 9. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 25°C of from 10g / 100g to 50g / 100g, preferably from 15g / 100g to 40g / 100g, most preferably from 16g / 100g to 26g / 100g. 10. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 30°C of from 5g / 100g to 30g / 100g, preferably from 10g / 100g to 25g / 100g, most preferably from 10g / 100g to 18g / 100g. 11. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 35°C of from 2g / 100g to 20g / 100g, preferably from 4g / 100g to 15g / 100g, most preferably from 6g / 100g to 12g / 100g. 12. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the one or more fats have an iodine value of 30 to 70, preferably 40 to 60, 50 to 60, in particular 52 to 60, most preferably about 56. 13. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the one or more fats comprise between 30g / 100g and 70g / 100g saturated fatty acids, preferably between 40g / 100g and 60g / 100g, 40g / 100g and 50g / 100g, 40g / 100g and 45g / 100g saturated fatty acids, most preferably about 43g / 100g saturated fatty acids. 14. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the one or more fats contain less than 2g / 100g trans fat, preferably less than 1g / 100g trans fat. 15. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 14, wherein the one or more fats are interesterified. 16. The method of any one of clauses 1-15, wherein the one or more fats consist of palm oil. 17. The method of any one of clauses 1-16, wherein the mixture comprises reworked wafers. 18. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the mixture comprises reworked wafers in an amount of 3% to 20% by weight, preferably in an amount of 5% to 15% by weight. 19. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 18, wherein the mixture comprises cocoa powder. 20. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 19, wherein the mixture is substantially free of water. 21. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the mixture comprises 30% to 65% by weight, preferably 40% to 60% by weight, most preferably 45% to 60% by weight, of one or more sweeteners. 22. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 21, wherein the one or more added sweeteners comprise a sugar (preferably selected from sucrose, glucose, galactose, lactose, maltose, fructose, corn syrup, and polydextrose) and / or a polyol (preferably selected from sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, xylitol or erythritol). 22. The method of any one of clauses 1-21, wherein the one or more added sweeteners include mono- and disaccharides, preferably selected from sucrose, glucose, galactose, lactose, maltose, and fructose, most preferably sucrose. 23. The method of any one of clauses 1-22, wherein the one or more added sweeteners comprise sucrose. 24. Stirring and cooling the heated mixture is carried out in 1s. -1 ~200s -1 , preferably 1s -1 ~100s -1 , most preferably 1s -1 ~50s -1 24. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 23, wherein the method is carried out at a shear rate of 25. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 24, wherein the mixture is heated to a temperature of 60°C to 70°C, preferably 63°C to 68°C, more preferably about 65°C. 26. The cooling rate is less than 5.0°C / min, preferably less than 4°C / min, and most preferably less than 3°C / min, or the cooling rate is 0.5°C / min to 4.5°C / min, preferably 1°C / min to 3.5°C / min, more preferably 1°C / min to 3°C / min, or 1°C / min to 2.5°C / min, or 1°C / min to 2°C / min; 26. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 25. 27. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 26, wherein the cooling rate is about 1.0° C. / min. 28. The shear rate is 1 s -1 ~20s -1 , preferably 1s -1 ~10s -1 , most preferably about 5 s -1 28. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 27, wherein 29. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 28, wherein the heated mixture is cooled to an intermediate temperature in a first heat exchanger and subsequently further cooled to a lamination temperature in a second heat exchanger. 30. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 29, wherein the intermediate temperature is between 40°C and 60°C, preferably between 45°C and 55°C, and most preferably about 50°C. 31. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 30, wherein the cooled mixture has a viscosity of 6000 cP to 15000 cP, preferably 9000 cP to 11000 cP. 32. The method of any one of clauses 1-31, wherein the cooled mixture has a viscosity of about 10,000 cP. 33. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 32, wherein the heated mixture is cooled to a temperature of 30°C to 40°C, preferably 32°C to 38°C, most preferably 34°C to 36°C. 34. The method of any one of clauses 1-33, wherein the heated mixture is cooled to a temperature of about 35°C. 35. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 34, wherein the filling cream layer(s) has a thickness of 3.8 mm to 4.5 mm, preferably 3.9 mm to 4.5 mm, more preferably 4.0 to 4.5 mm. 36. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 35, wherein the filling cream layer(s) has a thickness of 4.0 to 4.2 mm, preferably about 4.0 mm. 37. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 36, wherein the confectionery product consists of a layer of filling cream sandwiched between two wafer layers. 38. The method of any one of clauses 1-37, wherein step (g) comprises enrobing the cut edible substrate with chocolate. 39. A confectionery product produced by the method of any one of clauses 1 to 38. 40. A book-cut confectionery product comprising two or more edible base layers and one or more filling cream layers between the edible base layers, the one or more filling cream layers comprising one or more added fats, one or more sugars, and optionally one or more flavorings; the one or more filling cream layers have a thickness greater than 3.5 mm; 24. A book-cut confectionery product, wherein the one or more filling cream layers are as defined in any one of clauses 6 to 23. 41. A confectionery product according to clause 40, wherein the one or more edible substrate layers are baked goods, preferably wafer sheets. 42. A confectionery product according to clause 40 or clause 41, wherein one or more of the filling cream layers has a thickness of from 3.8mm to 4.5mm, preferably from 3.9mm to 4.5mm, more preferably from 4.0mm to 4.5mm. 43. A confectionery product according to any one of clauses 40, 41 or 42, wherein one or more of the filling cream layers has a thickness of 4.0 to 4.2 mm, preferably about 4.0 mm. 44. A confectionery product according to any one of clauses 40, 41 or 42, wherein the confectionery product consists of a layer of filling cream sandwiched between two wafer layers. 45. A confectionery product according to any one of clauses 40, 41 or 42, wherein the confectionery product comprises a filling cream layer according to any one of clauses 6 to 23 sandwiched between two wafer layers, the confectionery product preferably being chocolate coated.

Claims

1. 1. A method for preparing a confectionery product comprising a filling cream layer, comprising: (a) providing a filling cream mixture comprising one or more added fats, one or more added sweeteners, and optionally one or more flavorings; (b) stirring and heating the mixture to a temperature of at least 55°C to provide a heated filling cream mixture; (c) cooling the heated mixture at a cooling rate of less than 5°C / min and 1 s －１ ~250s －１ and cooling to a temperature of 20°C to 45°C to provide a cooled filling cream mixture having a viscosity of at least 6000 cP; (d) applying the cooled filling cream mixture onto a first edible substrate to form a filling cream layer having a thickness of at least 3.5 mm; (e) placing a second edible substrate on the filling cream layer to form a book; (f) cutting the book to form a plurality of cut products and optionally processing the cut products to form confectionery products. method.

2. Step (e) is (i) applying the cooled filling cream mixture to the second edible substrate to form a second filling cream layer; (ii) placing a third edible substrate on the second filling cream layer to form a multi-layer book; (iii) optionally repeating (ei) and (e-ii); The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the edible substrate is a baked food product.

4. The method described in claim 3, wherein the baked food is a wafer sheet.

5. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixture has a total fat content of from 20% to 45% by weight.

6. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixture comprises from 15% to 40% by weight of the one or more added fats.

7. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 20°C of from 15g / 100g to 60g / 100g.

8. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 25°C of from 10g / 100g to 50g / 100g.

9. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 30°C of from 5g / 100g to 30g / 100g.

10. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added fats have a solid fat content at 35°C of from 2g / 100g to 20g / 100g.

11. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixture comprises from 30% to 65% by weight of one or more added sweeteners.

12. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added sweeteners comprise a sugar selected from the group consisting of sucrose, glucose, galactose, lactose, maltose, fructose, corn syrup, and polydextrose, and / or a polyol selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, xylitol, and erythritol.

13. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added sweeteners comprise monosaccharides and / or disaccharides selected from the group consisting of sucrose, glucose, galactose, lactose, maltose, and fructose.

14. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more added sweeteners comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of sucrose.

15. The step of stirring and cooling the heated mixture is －１ The method of claim 1, carried out at a shear rate of up to 200 s-1.

16. A confectionery product produced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A book-cut confectionery product comprising two or more edible substrate layers and one or more filling cream layers between the edible substrate layers, the one or more filling cream layers comprising one or more added fats, one or more sugars, and optionally one or more flavorings; the one or more filling cream layers have a thickness of at least 3.5 mm; and A book-cut confectionery product, wherein said one or more filling cream layers are as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15.

18. A book-cut confectionery product as described in Claim 17, wherein the edible substrate layer is a baked food product.

19. The book-cut confectionery product described in Claim 18, wherein the baked food product is a wafer sheet.

20. 18. The book-cut confectionery product of claim 17, wherein the confectionery product comprises the filling cream layer sandwiched between two wafer layers and is chocolate coated.