What Is Cake Flour?
In the grocery store, you’ll likely find an aisle of flour varieties like all-purpose, cake flour, bread flour, pastry flour, and many more. These flours are defined by the amount of protein they contain, which in turn affects the amount of gluten in your baked good. More protein typically means more gluten.
Flours with higher protein content (like bread flour) are used for recipes that produce baked goods with a hearty and strechy crumbs like bread and pizza. Flours with lower protein—like cake flour—are used to make baked goods with light and tender crumbs (like cake!).
To see what kind of baked goods you can make with cake flour, check out Hummingbird High‘s cake recipe collection!
Cake Flour Versus All Purpose Flour
Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour. Cake flour typically contains 5 to 8% protein, whereas all-purpose flour contains 10 to 12% and bread flour contains 12 to 16%.
Other differences? In the past, cake flour was more finely ground, with a silky texture similar to confectioners’ sugar. However, these days, most commercial flours are ground to the same consistency and texture.
How To Make Cake Flour
You can make cake flour at home with just two ingredients: all-purpose flour and cornstarch!
To do so, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour into a bowl. Then, scoop out 2 Tablespoons of the flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch.
@hummingbirdhigh this is my apology for developing all the cake recipes in my cookbook with cake flour instead of AP 😳😬 #bakingtutorial #bakingrecipe #bakingtips ♬ Caramel Latte – Prod. By Rose
You can also scale the recipe up and down accordingly. For instance—to make 2 cups of cake flour, measure out 2 cups of all-purpose flour. Then, scoop out 4 Tablespoons (or ¼ cup) of the flour and replace it with the same amount of cornstarch.
Although it’s easy enough to do with measuring cups, I prefer to do it by weight. That way, you can scale the recipe up or down easily. Check out the recipe card below for further instructions with weight measurements!
Best Store Bought Cake Flour
Okay, you read the above and thought “too much work, I’ll just go to the store”. I get it! If you decide to go the store bought route, my favorite cake flour is Swans Down Cake Flour. This is the only company that makes cake flour EXCLUSIVELY.
Recipes With Cake Flour
Momofuku Milk Bar Chocolate Chip Layer Cake Recipe
6 Inch German Chocolate Cake Recipe
Best Potluck Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe
Guava Cake Recipe
My Best Yellow Cake With Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Small Batch Funfetti Cake Recipe
My Best Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe
6 Inch Japanese Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake Recipe
Strawberry Yellow Sheet Cake Recipe
White Chocolate Pistachio Babka Recipe
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Recipe
Eggnog Cake Recipe
Chocolate Strawberry Snack Cake Recipe
Get the Recipe: Homemade Cake Flour Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (7.85 ounces or 223 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (1 ounce or 28 grams) cornstarch
Instructions
- Whisk the flour and cornstarch. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and cornstarch. Whisk to combine, then sift through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Serve and store. Use as instructed in the recipe of your choice.The flour will keep, in an airtight container stored in a cool, dark place, for up to 1 year.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
