This Homemade Cake Flour recipe needs only two ingredients! You must add to your arsenal of baking necessities.
Quite a few recipes on my blog call for cake flour. It’s the best flour to use for a delicate, tender cake with a fine crumb.
My basic vanilla cake calls for this flour and if you try to use all-purpose flour, it will give you a denser cake. In fact, the texture will be so dry and dense it will resemble cornbread.
But, if you’re anything like me, you don’t always have cake flour on hand. That shouldn’t be a problem though. You make cake flour at home with 2 simple ingredients you already have in the pantry.
What is cake flour?
There are three common types of flour. And they all have different protein content. Let’s take a look.
Bread flour has approximately 14-16% protein. This flour is mostly used for making homemade bread and offers the chewiness we all love in rustic crusty bread.
All-purpose flour has approximately 10-12% protein. This flour is called for in most baked goods like cookies, brownies, and muffins. It offers a slightly less chewy texture than bread flour.
Cake flour as approximately 7-8% protein. The lower protein percentage is crucial for cakes. It’s what gives the cake layers structure along with a light, tender texture.
Cake flour is vital for delicate cakes like chiffon cakes.
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How to make cake flour at home
It’s very easy to make your own cake flour. It takes just 10 minutes to prep a whole bunch to store away in the pantry.
Gather your supplies. You need cornstarch, all-purpose flour, a sifter, 1 tablespoon-size measuring spoon, and 1 cup size measuring cup.
Measure out 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and place it in the measuring cup.
Gently spoon all-purpose flour into the cup over the cornstarch. Don’t pack the flour down in the cup.
Just lightly spoon it in until the cup will hold no more flour then use the back of a knife to level off the cup.
Do this for every cup of cake flour you need for a recipe.
Once you’ve measured out the cornstarch and flour, sift it together 4 to 6 times. Sifting it this many times ensures it’s thoroughly combined and properly aerated.
The cornstarch works by inhibiting gluten development to create a soft cake texture.
Make several cups of homemade cake flour and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. This way you’ll always have it on hand.
Read more about Flour Basics and How to Measure Flour in the Baking Basics category.
Tips for making homemade cake flour
- If you are in the UK, cornstarch is referred to as corn flour. Be sure you are not using cornmeal. They are two completely different things.
- Sift, sift, sift! The flour and cornstarch need to be sifted together well for this homemade recipe to work properly. Sift at least four times but more is better!
- This recipe is for one cup of cake flour. Multiply the recipe for however many cups of cake flour you need.
Helpful tools
Homemade Cake Flour
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 scant cup (115 grams) all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Measure out 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and place it in a 1-cup measuring cup.
- Gently spoon all-purpose flour into the cup over the cornstarch. Don’t pack the flour down in the cup. Just lightly spoon it in until the cup will hold no more flour then use the back of a knife to level off the cup.
- Sift the mixture 4-6 times to thoroughly combine and aerate the flour. Repeat for every cup of cake flour called for in a recipe.
Notes
- Corn flour is not a substitute for cornstarch. They are two completely different things here in the US.
- Cornstarch is obtained from the endosperm portion of the kernel and is used as a thickening agent. Corn flour is finely ground cornmeal and it’s used for making bread, tortillas, etc.
Jennifer Lynn Earp says
April 16, 2019 at 2:59 pmIs the calorie count supposed to read 479?😮 just on the flour?
Jen Sobjack says
April 16, 2019 at 4:18 pmYep. 1/4 cup is roughly 120 calories. The count here is for 1 scant cup plus 1 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Karen says
March 29, 2019 at 3:44 pmPlease can you tell me the ingredients in UK grams, for cake flour thankyou karen
Jen Sobjack says
March 30, 2019 at 12:33 pmThere’s a tab under the ingredient heading for you to switch between US cups and Metric measurements.
Leticia says
February 2, 2019 at 9:02 amIf I don’t have corn flour at home can I use baking powder or baking soda? And what’s the required quantity for a cup
Jen Sobjack says
February 4, 2019 at 9:20 amYou should be using baking powder and/or baking soda for your cake already but those are leavening agents which make the cake rise. Corn flour is an anticaking agent which when added to regular all-purpose flour mimics cake flour by giving the cake a tighter crumb. If you want a true substitute for low-protein cake flour, you must use the corn flour.
Carrie says
August 29, 2018 at 1:34 pmWhat happens if i use self rising flour
Jen Sobjack says
August 29, 2018 at 3:01 pmThen your flour will already have the rising agent in it and you can omit the leaver from the recipe you are using.
kemala hayati says
June 9, 2018 at 12:47 pmhow much is tablespoon for cornstach in gram?
Jen Sobjack says
June 11, 2018 at 11:27 amIt’s about 10 grams.
Natz says
February 13, 2018 at 2:33 pmHi,
Would this same method apply to all-purpose gluten-free flour? Or since the gluten is not an issue should it work for your “cake flour” recipes?
Thank you!
Jen Sobjack says
February 14, 2018 at 10:41 amUnfortunately, I’m not experienced in gluten-free baking. I’m sorry, I wish I could be more helpful with your question.
Natz says
February 14, 2018 at 11:59 amI think I’m going to try to experiment with it anyway, see what happens 😀
Karolina says
August 7, 2018 at 1:23 amHi! Just curious if you tried the gluten free version and how it turned out? Thanks!
Jen Sobjack says
August 7, 2018 at 10:32 amI’m not a gluten-free baker so it’s not something I’ve experimented with.
Natz says
August 7, 2018 at 10:22 pmI did but my gluten free flour was probably not the best choice as I think it may have been spoiled. I will try again with a different flour!
Jen says
February 1, 2018 at 7:11 pmThis is perfect!