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Cake flour. Let’s face facts: I never have cake flour on hand when I need it. Luckily, there’s a super easy way to turn good old all-purpose flour into cake flour, lightening your cake crumb, making it super soft and delicious. Maybe you already know this trick. It’s a good one.
Here’s a step by step. From me to you!
How to Turn All-Purpose Flour into Cake Flour
Step One: Measure out the all-purpose flour that you’ll need for your recipe.
Step Two: For every cup of flour you use, take out two tablespoons of flour and return it to the flour bin. Throw the cup of flour (minus the two tablespoons) into a sifter set over a bowl.
Step Three: Replace the two tablespoons of flour that your removed with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
Step Four: Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Sift it again, and again and again. The cornstarch and flour need to be well incorporated and the flour aerated. Sift the flour and cornstarch mixture about five times. Look at that! You just made cake flour!
Marcy
I need to make cake flour and your direction is great! But, can you speak to high altitude alterations?
Katie Coupe
Does this work for sponge mixes please.
joythebaker
Yes!
Tonya
It’s important to note that this trick will still yield a different texture than true cake flour (I prefer to use the unbleached) because a different portion of the wheat kernel is used. Cake flour uses only the soft inner most part of the kernel and all purpose flour uses all but the bran. So for the baker that uses cake flour occasionally this may be a good option but for those that use cake flour regularly it would be better to purchase true cake flour. If you can not get your hands on cake flour but bake often professional bakers recommend finding a recipe that is formulated for the ingredients available to you for the best flavor and texture results.
Judy Coe
When I lived in Colorado a friend gave me a recipe that she called Spice Cake. It was baked in two 8 x 4 loaf pans. Ingredients included salad dressing, molasses, dates and marschino cherries. There were no eggs in the recipe. It was great for Christmas if you did not like regular fruit cake which is so heavy. I have lost my recipe. Does anyone have this recipe that they would share??
leah johansson
hi, its very difficult to find all purpose flour here in Sweden. Can I use regular flour for this recipe? thank you
Mahnaz
Hello,leah johansson
You can buy T45 flour is equaivalent to Type 00 italian flour, Euro 450 flour or American cake flour .All of the name are same . An all-purpose flour can also be ‘00’. Even if you find Type 000 or 0000 flour, it is very good for cakes.Because they have got a low protein.
robin
Can you make a few pounds of this and store it if you’re going to use it within a month or so?
joythebaker
Yes indeed!
Amy
Thank you. I had no idea you could make your own
Steve
Well, that won’t work. My wife and some of my grandkids are allergic to all forms of corn. I wonder if potato starch or something else will work the same
joythebaker
I’m not sure, I haven’t tested that yet. If you try it let me know how it turns out.