Cake Flour | Baking Ingredients | BAKERpedia (2024)

FAQs

What does cake flour consist of? ›

Cake flour is milled from soft wheat and contains the lowest amount of protein when compared to other flours, around 5 to 8%. For comparison's sake, all purpose flour is usually 10 to 13% protein, which can produce good results for almost any recipe.

All thanks to Addison Igleheart, (grandfather of Phyllis Igleheart), who in 1894, after years of secretly perfecting his recipe and process, invented Swans Down Cake Flour which immediately became the world's most popular cake flour, winning the Grand Prize for Cake Flour at the World's Fair in 1904.

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. You can also scale the recipe up and down accordingly.

To make two cups of cake-and-pastry flour (cake flour), combine 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch; proceed with your recipe. The easiest way to do this substitution is to put 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup as usual with all-purpose flour and level top.

Super basic breakdown: Cake flour = low protein = less gluten = softest texture = great for vanilla cake and vanilla cupcakes. All-purpose flour = medium protein = moderate gluten = suitable for anything, from chocolate chip cookies to pizza dough.

Cake Flour vs Self-Raising Flour: Cake flour is finely ground wheat flour with low protein and gluten levels but is bleached for health reasons. Self-raising flour, on the other hand, is not as finely grounded but has more protein and gluten content, with additional ingredients like salt and baking powder.

Can I substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour? Yes, you can. You'll wind up with a similar cake, just with a slight difference in texture and crumb. Both flours perform the same in recipes — they'll mix into identical batters — but the final results will differ to a small degree.

Because our pastry flour has less protein than all purpose flour, it's ideal for many lighter baking purposes. In addition to making pastry, it can be used in place of cake flour in your favorite cake recipes. It's also a wonderful flour for biscuits, scones, cookies, muffins, pound cake and more.

No it doesn't. Cake flour doesn't contain any raising agents. So when using it, you will need to use baking powder or baking soda into your cake. When making your own homemade cake flour just note that cornstarch is not a raising agent.

Making your own cake flour substitute is incredibly easy. Just take out two Tablespoons of flour from one cup of all purpose flour and add in two tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot powder to get one cup of cake flour.

Can I freeze cake flour? ›

Freeze! No, not you, keep reading, but freeze your flour! If you don't plan on using your whole grain or nut flour before the best-by date, put it in a plastic bag (an airtight container works too, it just takes up more space), and stick it in the freezer until you need it.

How to make cake flour: Whisk together 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (105g) all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch. Use in place of cake flour in a recipe, substituting by equal weight or volume.

Cake flour is a lower-protein flour; it has about 7% to 9% protein compared to the 10% to 12% protein in all-purpose flour. If you opt for all cake flour cookies, less gluten is formed when you mix the cookie dough. The resulting cookie consistency post-baking is delicate, softer, fluffier, and, well, more cake-like.

High-grade flour, also known as bread flour, has a protein — or gluten — content of about 12.7%. ... Cake flour has a protein content of approximately 10% and is usually unbleached. This provides just enough gluten for a good rise, which is enhanced by the flour not having been bleached, and an very tender crumb.

We tried using bread flour in several baked good recipes, including yellow cake and sugar cookies, but didn't have success. The cake had a dense, gummy texture and the cookies lacked crispness. There are important differences between wheat flours related to the proteins that form gluten when combined with water.