What Is Cake Flour?
What is cake flour? I’m answering all your questions here! Learn why this ingredient is often called for, what it is, where to get it, & how it’s used.
I have a lot of cake and cupcake recipes on this site, and so many of them call for cake flour!
I’ve been using this ingredient in my cakes and cupcakes since way before I ever even started this website. If you’ve tried any of my cake recipes, then you’ve probably heard me explain why.
It’s one of the number one questions I get asked by readers! So I thought it was about time to break it down and explain it in a post.
What is cake flour?
Cake flour is flour that is very finely milled from soft winter wheat.
It has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour and is finer, lighter, and softer.
It’s also bleached, so the color is paler, and the grain is less dense.
Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour: What’s the difference?
The main difference is the lower protein content, which produces less gluten.
You know when you’re making bread, and it gets that chewy, elastic texture to it? So yummy, right?
Well, it’s good when you’re talking about yeast breads, but not so good when you’re talking about cakes.
So, what type of flour is best for cakes?
We want light, soft, and tender cakes, with a fine, close crumb. And that is exactly what you will get if you use low protein flour.
The first time I baked a cake with cake flour, I was astonished. It sounds silly, but it was life-changing for me.
I could not get over the difference it made in that cake!
Ever since then, I swear by it! I’m always sure to keep a box in my pantry.
I mean, if you’re going to the trouble of baking a cake from scratch, wouldn’t you want the final product to be the best it can possibly be?
You can use this ingredient to make any type of cake, including chocolate cake, vanilla cake, and white cake, and it’s a must when making angel food cake!
Where do you get cake flour?
It’s is pretty easy to find here in the US. I’ve never been to a grocery store that doesn’t carry it.
It’s in the baking aisle in the same general area as all-purpose flour.
There are all sorts of flours: bleached all-purpose, unbleached all-purpose, bread flour, pastry flour, whole wheat flour… the list goes on and on. This is just another one of those, unique in its purpose, and it can be found right alongside all the others.
It can also be ordered online! Here’s a link to purchase it: Cake Flour.
My favorite brands are Softasilk, Swan’s Down, King Arthur Flour, and Bob’s Red Mill. They are all great products and will yield excellent results.
If you do not live in the US, you might have more difficulty finding this ingredient.
As far as I know, there is nothing quite the same available in Europe.
It’s is NOT “self-raising flour,” and it is NOT “sponge flour.”
The closest thing would probably be “plain flour,” sifted with a bit of cornstarch (see “Cake Flour Substitute” below).
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
If a recipe calls for a specific ingredient, it’s best to use it.
In a pinch, yes you can substitute all-purpose flour. But if you want to bake like a boss, I’d highly recommend keeping a box of this magic in your pantry.
If you use all-purpose flour, you will notice that your cakes and cupcakes will have more of an open crumb. In other words, there will be bigger pockets of air within the cake.
The final result will also be a little more dense and chewy.
I prefer the light, soft texture of cakes baked with a lower protein flour.
Homemade Cake Flour Recipe
If you’re still unconvinced, or live in a part of the world where it’s unavailable, you can create your own cake flour substitute.
For every cup of cake flour, replace it with 1 cup of all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Cornstarch is another type of starch but it has very little protein, which will help lighten the all-purpose flour.
Depending upon where you are in the world, it may go by the name “corn flour.”
It is white and powdery. It is NOT cornmeal, which is usually yellow and gritty.
This will yield a fluffier texture.
Step 1: Measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour.
Step 2: Sift the regular flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch together.
Step 3: Measure by weight or lightly spoon into a measuring cup, then level off. NEVER pack flour into a measuring cup! More info on that here: How to Measure Ingredients for Baking.
This will result in something similar to one cup of cake flour.
With that said, bear in mind that this substitution is not exactly the same thing as cake flour, so the results will be better but not identical to the low-protein flour.
Most recipes here on Baking a Moment are measured by cups and teaspoons because that’s how most of my readers bake. But if you prefer to measure your ingredients by weight, check out my free printable Weight Conversion Chart.
Is cake flour gluten-free?
No, cake flour is not gluten-free.
Cake flour falls under the category of wheat flours. Although it does produce less gluten than all-purpose flour, it’s still not recommended for people with gluten intolerance.
What can I use cake flour for?
Cake flour is great for cakes. But what if you don’t bake many cakes and want to use up what you have left over?
Good news! Cake flour is excellent in all kinds of recipes. Anytime you’re baking something that wants to be airy and delicate, cake flour is a great option.
But I would stick with all-purpose flour for things like cookies and pie crust, and use bread flour for anything yeasted (such as pizza dough or dinner rolls).
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Homemade Cake Flour
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour using the spoon and level method.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour.
- Add the flour to the sifter, along with the cornstarch.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch together into a large bowl.
- Measure by weight or lightly spoon into a measuring cup and then level off. NEVER pack flour into a measuring cup!
Notes
- This substitution is not exactly the same thing as cake flour, so the results will be better but not identical.
- If weighing your ingredients use 110 grams of all-purpose flour, and 10 grams of cornstarch.
Can you use cake flour and all purpose flour together in a cake recipe or not because I have some cake flour it it’s not enough to cover the full reicpe will it mess up the cake if I did this
Awesome read with a wealth of knowledge and information on the subject matter. I look forward to making my first cake using cake flour. Just one question…
How do you keep a straight face when answering some of these idiotic/self-explanatory/already answered questions people ask? Seriously, I can get the info I’m looking for then hit the comment section for a little bonus entertainment. You should put a shortcut at the top of the page that jumps directly to the comments lol.
I believe it’s my job to help people, but you are right it can be very frustrating at times. Especially when I’ve already answered the question so many times over. It takes me a long time to research the topic, anticipate what the questions might be, and write thoughtfully, and most times people just blow right past it all to comment with the exact questions that I’ve already answered. I don’t expect people to always read the whole article, because I know it can be long and boring, but if they look at the recipe card and then have questions, it would be nice if they’d scroll back up to see if it’s already been explained.
The recipe for scones you provided indicated all purpose flour not cake flour-
Do you have a recipe for scones using cake flour?
No, I usually use all-purpose for scones so they are a little more sturdy. Feel free to play around though!
Please help me. I always use McDougalls supreme sponge flour, but have been unable to get any for weeks now.Â
I have been told about the corn flour substitution, but it didn’t work for me.Â
I am in the uk where I use plain or self raising flour, and work in pounds and ounces (I’m a bit old you see)!!
So could you please tell me , how much should be flour should be replaced using 6ozs of flour, and whether the flour should be plain or self raising?
I used self raising when it didn’t work.Â
Thank you for your time.Â
Chrissy.Â
You will want to use plain flour since self-raising contains added salt and leaveners. Good luck!
Hi there!
My hubby loves my honey dinner rolls. Recently though, he asked if I could make them less dense. Would substituting some of the all-purpose flour for cake flour accomplish this? Thanks so much!
That might be a good thing to try! Please let me know how that works out for you, I’d love to hear the results!
My mom (now deceased) used to bake these wonderful light fluffy (my word) cakes. I recently tried baking from scratch and was disappointed my cakes and cup cakes were so dense. I tried the “substitute” cake flour recipes (3/4 cup all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons cornstarch) but it didnt make much difference. A little lighter but not much. Before I go out and spend the extra money, will this really make a difference. I wish my mom was still around so I could get her baking secrets. Everybody loved her cakes.
I really think it does make a difference, but of course a lot depends on the recipe you’re using. When I first discovered cake flour, I was struck by not only how light it made my cakes but also by how fine the crumb was. I really love that about cake flour, and I have not had the same kind of luck with the all-purpose/cornstarch mix.
So making corn bread do you still recommend all cake flour or combine cake and regular flour. Thank you Dean
I typically just use all-purpose but it probably wouldn’t be bad to do a combination. Here’s my favorite cornbread recipe: https://bakingamoment.com/moist-sweet-cornbread/. Hope you enjoy!
I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate information about flour, at 70 with time on my hands baking and cooking brings overwhelming joy to me. Other than secret ingredients it’s all about the chemistry and the process. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me.
It’s my pleasure Dean! So happy you’re enjoying the content.
I can’t find an answer to this question: do I need to make any adjustments to the other ingredients in a cake recipe if I’m substituting cake flour for AP flour, such as the baking powder, etc.?
I wouldn’t think so, but it’s impossible for me to say for sure without being familiar with the recipe you’re using.
I have a recipe that’s asking for 1/2 cup all purpose flour but I want to use cake flour. How much of Cake flour I suppose to you?
It’s impossible for me to say without knowing the recipe you’re planning to make. Is it one from this website?
I am a UK citizen, and SELF RAISING flour IS cake flour here. You can only use PLAIN flour for cakes if you are a raising agent into it – like Bicarbonate of Soda or Baking Powder. The same should apply for Australian flours.
Hello, I came across your post and it is very helpful, so thank u for that. Can you tell me what the difference is between hi-ratio cake flour vs regular store bought cake flour?Â
Amazing post! Thanks for sharing and keep up the wonderful work.
You’re so welcome and thanks for the positive feedback!
Hi! I’m the one with the two tier cake question (10in bottom cake and top 6in) I’m making it with your vanilla cake recipe, if it will be sturdy to hold other cake on top? And could chocolate chips be added to the mix?
Thank you
Hi again- yes I typically make that recipe as a layer cake with 3 layers. It should work well layered for you as well. Chocolate chips sound like a nice addition. Good luck!
Hi! I’m making a two tier cake vanilla cake with cake flour, will it be sturdy to hold another cakw on top? Bottom cake will be 10in and top 6in…. And could I add chocolate chip to the mix?
Are you making it from a recipe on this site? Not really sure how to answer without knowing anything about the recipe…
Bleached flour is banned here in the UK and Europe and Australia the closest we get to this is sponge flour
Definitely going to have to try this! I tried to make a lime cake and followed the introductions to a T but as soon as it came out it was way to crumbly and the cake texture was thick and almost bread like with a cornstarch sort of taste from the all purpose flour I use. All of my cakes come out with a thick texture that’s either moist (like glossy wet kinda moist) or has the smell of some kind of corn bread-corn flour type smell. It doesn’t taste as sweet either. This will definitely help in the future because most of the recipes say flour or all purpose flour but it never ends up right!
Oh that’s terrible! I hate that cornbread texture in a cake. Hopefully using cake flour will make a difference for you!
Hi. Can I use cake flour in a recipe that calls for ap flour? And if so , how’s it substitutes?
You can try it but it will probably take some experimentation to get it exactly right. I usually use a combination of cake flour and all-purpose- the all-purpose flour provides structure and the cake flour keeps it soft and delicate. All of the cake recipes on this site have already been tested and I’ve found the perfect balance for you. You can find whatever you’re looking for by typing it into the search window at the top of the site.
Hi Allie, thank You for such great information. Really helps me as a new baker. Can I clarify something though? When I covert to gms( as I prefer that method of measurement), and covert 1 and 3/4th cups of cake flour to gms which is 210gms, do I need to take out the flour and add cornflour in gms or still tablespoons? Completely confused with this. Also if I do take it out in gms how much would I have to take out and add for 3/4th cup? For one cup it’s 2tbsp(which is 16gms of AP flour to be removed and 16gms of cornflour to be added. But how much for 3/4thz please help…
Hey Sam! I appreciate that you like to use metric measurements for baking. It does tend to be a lot more accurate. But if you are dealing with small amounts (tablespoons/teaspoons) it’s fine to just keep those as such. If I were you I would just weigh the flour, take out 2 tablespoons, and then mix in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. It’s a lot easier that way. Hope this is helpful!
I’m looking to bake a carrot cake for Easter and have a lot of leftover cake flour. Would you recommend using cake flour instead of all purpose (every recipe I find says to use all purpose)? If so, just swap out the cake for all purpose or is there some sort of conversion?
My favorite carrot cake recipe calls for cake flour- you can find it here: https://bakingamoment.com/carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/. Hope you enjoy!