How To Make Cake Flour

Learn how to make your own cake flour in just a few easy steps!

One of the reasons I hear often that people don’t like to bake, is “I don’t have the right ingredients!”.  But if you have the basics in your pantry you can actually make some ingredients yourself. Like cake flour. 

So if a recipe calls for cake flour and you don’t always have some on hand, you can make it yourself! And it’s so easy! 

The only flours I do keep on hand: 

• All Purpose Flour (This is the warhorse of flours and I use a lot of it obviously in pretty much everything. I like to use an unbleached flour)
• Bread Flour (this has a higher protein content and is great when making pizza dough and I use this in my chocolate chip cookies too!)
• Gluten Free Flour Blend (I do like making some gluten free cookies once in a while so having this on hand is great)
• Almond Flour (meal)- this is a must for macarons!
• Whole Wheat Flour (I like using half whole wheat and half all purpose in my recipes)

The one flour I do not keep on hand is cake flour! But I use it in a lot of recipes! So am I lying to you by saying I use it. Heck no. Never. I simply just make my own! And you will be surprised how easy it is!

For more on the differences between flours and how to use them, read this post. 

What is Cake Flour?

Cake flour is the “softest” of all the flours on your shelf. Meaning, the cake flour has the lowest protein content (about 8-9 % ) which means when used in cakes and cupcakes will result in light and tender layers and cupcakes.

Why use cake flour vs. other flours?

When you do want those light and fluffy cakes and tender cupcakes reach for cake flour. Cake flour doesn’t hold up as the other flours so doesn’t provide the structure in your baked goods. Which is great for cakes, but not so much for pizza.

Can I substitute cake flour with another flour?

If a recipe called for cake flour, I would only substitute with all purpose flour. To make this substitution, you need to bust out that kitchen scale! If you haven’t invested in one yet, what are you waiting for?! The kitchen scale is something I absolutely could not live without in my kitchen. I use mine all the time. Because these flours don’t weigh the same, you can’t just simply use your dry measuring cups (which are based on volume) and not weight so it can be inaccurate.

Let’s make this simple:

1 cup of all purpose flour = 4.5 ounces

So if you need to replace with cake flour, measure out the cake flour on your kitchen scale until you reach the 4.5 ounces.

How do you make cake flour?

Alright, you’re ready?

Start by measuring out your flour. Here I have measured out a cup of flour into a mesh sieve set over my mixing bowl.

Pro Tip: Be sure to measure your flour correctly. Start by fluffing up the flour in the container, then scoop the flour into your cup with a spoon and level off with a flat edge.

For more on how to measure your flour and why it’s important read this post.

Then I remove one tablespoon of the flour.

I replace that tablespoon of flour with one tablespoon of cornstarch.

Then I simply sift! 

How To Store And Use Your Cake Flour

Now you could make up a batch and keep it in an airtight container. Or just simply make some each time you need some. Just adjust your recipe if needed. For example, if you want to make my perfect vanilla cupcakes, the recipe calls for 3 cups cake flour. So you would measure out the 3 cups of flour, remove 3 tablespoon, and replace with 3 Tablespoons of corn starch. Just don’t forget to sift!

Recipes That Use Cake Flour

Now what can you make with this new batch of DIY cake flour? Here are few recipes for you to try out!

• New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
• White cake recipe
• Funfetti cake recipe