Cake flour is a flour that is incredibly finely milled from soft winter wheat. Cake flour has a lower protein content, and is finer, lighter, and softer than all-purpose flour. It’s also bleached, so the color is paler and the grain is less dense compared to other types of flour. Cake flour is perfect for making high ratio madeira cake, muffins, and layer cake.
1. Is All-Purpose Flour a Substitute for Cake Flour?
Cake flour is a low protein flour that’s milled into a fine consistency. Cake flour contains approximately 7-9% protein while all-purpose flour, a harder flour, has roughly 10-12%. The higher level of protein in all-purpose flour makes it higher in gluten content since protein content is directly related to gluten formation. Cake flour’s lower protein means less gluten is formed as you mix the batter together, leading to a softer, fluffier texture.
Because of cake flour’s low protein content, it is not recommended to use cake flour when another type of flour is called for, even all-purpose. Baking is incredibly objective and scientific that a seemingly minor change such as substituting cake flour for all-purpose or vice versa could affect your end product. For example, if you are making pancakes or a victoria sponge, you will have very different results if you substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour or any other types of baking flour. Hence, it’s vital to use cake flour for pastry or food that specifically requires cake flour.
2. Is Cake Flour Gluten-Free?
No, cake flour is not gluten-free. It is still made from wheat. While it does produce less gluten than all-purpose flour, as mentioned above, it’s still not recommended for people who have a gluten intolerance.
If you want to bake a gluten-free cake or cupcake, substitute all the flour in the recipe for a gluten-free flour blend.
3. Are Cake Flour and Pastry Flour the same?
While pastry flour is ideal for pie crusts and tart shells, cake flour is designed specifically for cakes! Cake flour’s soft, fine texture absorbs liquid and sugar more easily compared to pastry flour, and produces an extra-moist cake. Cake flour has a 7% to 8% protein content, which is lower than pastry flour’s 8% to 9% protein content. The low protein count helps cake flour produce a moist, fine crumb and fluffy texture in cakes and muffins.
4. Is Cake Flour a Type of Self-Raising Flour?
5. Does Cake Flour Contain Baking Flour?
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. It’s what is used to soften your flour and cake.