Baking a cake? Let's talk cake flour. Specifically, what is it, why use it, and whether it's really as crucial to the success of a cake as recipes make it out to be. Do you bake with cake flour?
Cake flour is an entirely different ingredient than the all-purpose flour we use to make things like sandwich bread and even most cookies. For starters, it has a lower protein content of around 7% to 8%, as compared to the 10% to 12% found in most all-purpose flour. Cake flour is also ground much more finely than other flours, giving it a soft and silky feel.
The lower protein and the finer grind both have a direct effect on the texture of cakes and pastries. The lower protein means that the flour forms less gluten as you work with it, which in turn keeps baked goods light and airy. The fine grind of the flour translates into pastries with a softer crumb. Some cake flours are also bleached to help cake set more quickly and also give them a lighter color.
Cake flour is the difference between a tall cake with a delicate crumb and one that is dense and somewhat coarse. If you're baking for a special occasion, it's worth it to use the right flour. Cake flour can also be used in cookies, bars, and other baked goods whenever you'd like a lighter or softer texture.
If you find yourself out of cake flour just when you need it, you can approximate it by adding two tablespoons of cornstarch to every cup of all-purpose flour. It's not quite the same, but the cornstarch will help soften the gluten and give you a finer crumb.
What brand of cake flour do you use?
Related: What's the Difference? Cake Flour, Pastry Flour, All-Purpose Flour, and Bread Flour
(Image: Ambient Ideas/Shutterstock)
How to Cook Rice on the Stove
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Floral Drink Dispen...
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Beatriz's Fun & Functional Workspace
But, I like moist, dense, sturdy cakes! Lol.
Can you sub cake flour 1:1 for AP flour?
King Arthur cake flour ~ always.
I've searched every store imaginable in Southern Oregon and cannot find cake flour anywhere. I'll have to give the cornstarch substitution a try, even if it isn't quite as good!
Is there any reason that cake flour might "expire"? I used some to make a new recipe last month, which I had marked as expiring in April 2012, so I figured I was safe. The cake was incredibly dry, but I can't figure out where the problem lies.
"Some cake flours are also bleached..." As far as I have seen, King Arthur is the only one that isn't bleached. Are there others out there?
I always bake with all purpose flour,.:)
I use King Arthur too. And for CIMORRENE, you probably already know this but cake flour comes in a box instead of the usual sack/bag. I find it's usually on a top shelf above the all-purpose flours with the cornstarch in the supermarkets.
@vintagejenta – It's not a 1:1 substitution; I usually follow what it says on my box of cake flour, which is to use 1 cup + 2 TB cake flour for every 1 cup AP that a recipe calls for.
Also, I'm not sure if you were joking or not, but I *do* like moist, dense, sturdy cakes, so I'm pretty picky about which recipes I'll use cake flour in.
I never remember to buy cake flour, so I always end up putting 2 tbsp corn starch in a measuring cup, spooning AP flour into the rest, then leveling off. I whisk the flour and cornstarch and then sift it 3 times. This method always makes for a dense, moist cake with a delicate crumb, and I've used it to make angel food cake, cupcake and sponge cake.
I use cake flour...in older recipes, it is sifted first and only weighs 4 ounces, not 4 1/2 ounces as a cup of stirred flour weighs... otherwise you will have too much flour and a dry cake. It makes a more tender cake as the protein and gluten content are less. I have a couple of old cookie recipes that also call for cake flour, and the tender results are worth keeping some in the freezer.
The only cake flour I've seen at the store is Swans (I think it's called). Comes in a red box. It never seems like enough flour to me so I usually use pasty flour cut with some 100% WW pasty flour. Comes out denser than if I used white flour but it makes me feel less guilty!
@Alicelost - Not joking! Fluffy soft cake is not generally my thing; same with frosting.
That being said, the boyfriend loves fluffy-but-moist yellow cake with white frosting as birthday cake, so I figure someday I have to learn how to make it since I refuse to use box cake and frosting from a can like his mom often does. Of course, since he usually drowns said cake in heavy cream, the fluffy moist thing is probably not all that important. Lol.
Thanks for the substitution tip!
Cake flour, measured by weight if you have a decent recipe, really is superior and worth seeking out. I usually buy King Arthur because I can buy Swan's Down is fine.
The best vanilla cupcake recipe ever is from Billy's Bakery in NYC and it calls for cake flour. I can't easily find King Arthur cake flour in my neighborhood, so I usually use Swan's Down or Softasilk.
We don't have cake flour in the UK, so I'd never used it until I moved to the US. Now that I've tried it I find it tastes a bit weird and chemical-y.
I use softasilk too. I started using cake flour only within the last couple of months but with nothing but stunning results. I do about 1:1 ratio with AP. I sift all of my dry together. Everything goes through that little "rusty" sifter. I do not always use it- more for extra special occasions.
This was one of the best results using cake flour - the chocolate cake. (Maybe bc I also splurged on high quality local chocolate and really good butter!)
http://www.thekitchn.com/why-i-make-my-o-164167