Learn How to Make Cake Flour-Two Pantry Ingredients. Sometimes, I find myself wanting to bake something just to find out I lack the exact ingredients. It is nice to know simple tricks that will help make your recipes a success. This is one of them!
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To be honest, I rarely have cake flour on hand.
However, using just two ingredients, you can make your own. Thankfully, I always have these ingredients in my pantry.
You might be asking yourself, if I rarely have cake flour on hand, why does it matter to know how to make your own. Well, as I continue to improve my baking skills, one realizes that there are little tricks that will make all the difference when it comes to the end result. This flour is one of those things.
What can Cake Flour Do for Your Next Recipe?
This flour produces the softest, most tender cakes and cupcakes. You might be asking why. Well, it is all about the fine texture and gluten formation.
The flour is a low protein flour that’s milled into a fine consistency. It contains about 7-9% protein, whereas the all-purpose flour that we normally use in recipes, is a harder flour and has anywhere between 10-12% protein.
Why does this matter? Protein content is directly related to gluten formation. Cake flour’s lower protein means less gluten is formed as you mix the batter together. Less gluten formation equates to a softer, fluffier texture.
Here are Three Types of Flour That are used for making muffins, breads, and cakes. Let’s break it down by the numbers to help illustrate:
- Cake flour has low protein, which means less gluten and this equals soft texture. Great for cakes and muffins.
- All-purpose flour has medium protein, which meals medium gluten and equals a great flour to use on anything.
- Bread flour has high protein, which means high gluten and equals a hard texture. Great for bread.
Does this mean you should always use this flour for cakes? NO
There are some recipes that already have other ingredients included that will make the cake turn out rather flimsy. Therefore, it is important to point out a few things to consider.
Types of Recipes Appropriate for This Flour
While, there is a soft, tender texture; not all recipes can withstand the fine textured flour. Let’s explore.
Chocolate cakes often have cocoa powder, this is a fine and dry ingredient. When paired with this type of flour, the cake may turn out fragile.
Carrot or banana cakes have wet, heavy ingredients and the fine-texture might be a bit too fine for these types of ingredients. Therefore, these are great recipes for all-purpose flour.
The perfect recipes for cake flour are red velvet, vanilla, white, cup cakes, or tea cakes. (any time you would like a light and airy texture).
Two Ingredients for Making Cake Flour
Yes, there are just two ingredients needed to make this fine-textured, light flour. However, if you can purchase cake flour, that is really the best option.
I only use this method when I have not planned well and need it to finish a recipe.
I always have these ingredients on hand: cornstarch and all-purpose flour.
- Measure 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 Tablespoons.
- Measure 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. Add to the flour. Cornstarch is low gluten and will help tenderize the all-purpose flour, for lack of better words.
- Sift the flour into the mixing bowl two times. This will help make sure that the ingredients are mixed sell and it helps aerate the flour so it is a bit more like a cake flour consistency.
- Measure 1 cup from this mixture. You should end up with 1 cup, but sometimes the sifting will produce more volume.
How to Make Cake Flour
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Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
Instructions
- Start with 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 Tablespoons. Put that back in the canister. Pour this into the mesh strainer, or you can use a flour sifter if you have one.
- Add the 2 Tablespoons of corn starch.
- Sift into a mixing bowl. Then run it through the sifter one more time.
- You should have 1 cup of cake flour to use in your favorite recipe.
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I hope that you liked this recipe. If you are looking for more ideas on what to make, here are a few other recipes that you may enjoy.
You can find Victoria crocheting, quilting, and creating recipes. She has cooked in restaurants for over 20 years, including many larger parties. She learned to crochet when she was just 11 years old and has been crocheting ever since; over 50 years now. Over 40 years ago, she loved her first class in sewing and continues to hone her skills in quilting. Many have enjoyed the handmade gifts over the years. In her professional career, she has worked in management in a wide variety of businesses including higher education as a dean of a division. All the while attending college part-time to achieve her doctorate in higher education with an emphasis in e-learning.
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