Can You Substitute Cake Flour For All Purpose Flour?: If you have craving for baked goods that should be textured as soft, fluffy, less dense, or tender then changing the flour type in place of all-purpose flour is the best option. So, now you may get a doubt about what to use instead of all-purpose flour to reach the required textured baked goods. Cake flour is one of the substitutes for all-purpose flour. Wondering if can you substitute Cake Flour For All Purpose Flour then jump into this ultimate guide and clear all your queries in no time. Along with the answer to whether can I use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, you can even find information like definitions, the difference between cake & all-purpose flour, simple ways to replace all-purpose flour with cake flour, etc.
What is All Purpose Flour?
All Purpose Flour is made from a mixture of soft and hard wheat flour which has a 10-12% protein content. You can find bleached and unbleached types which are easily interchangeable but 8% of protein content is included in the southern brands of bleached all-purpose flour and it is mainly produced from soft winter wheat. You can even find distinct protein content in the same brands. All-purpose flour is used for preparing baked goods like bread, cakes, cookies, pastries, etc. Even you can use it as dusting nuts, cherries, and baking pans, also to coat vegetables for frying, etc.
What is Cake Flour?
Cake Flour is produced from soft wheat flour which includes 6-8% of protein content. It is a chlorinated and ground extra-fine powder that results in the desired tender, delicate, fluffy, lighter, loosely-structured crumb textured cakes, pastries, muffins, cookies, and other baked goods. Also, cake flour is low in gluten content so health freaks can fulfill their baked goods cravings at any time.
Can You Substitute Cake Flour For All Purpose Flour When Baking?
Yes, You can substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour for soft and fluffy textured baked goods. As per the definitions of cake flour and all-purpose flour, you may see that cake flour is less protein and gluten than all-purpose flour. Hence, this can help your health when you bake dishes with cake flour. The substitution ratio and the methods to follow for using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour are explained below so clearly. Related Posts:
How To Replace All-Purpose Flour With Cake Flour?
If you have decided to try swapping it to cake flour in your next baked good to witness the texture changes then follow these three methods of how to substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour.
Method 1 - Substituting Cake Flour For All-Purpose Flour By Volume
- Mostly, we use cake flour for fluffier, lighter, less dense textured baked goods. Make sure to try using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour in recipes like muffins, scones, waffles, biscuits, pancakes, cupcakes, cakes, and sweetbreads.
- Now, you know what types of baked goods need cake flour as a replacement for all-purpose flour.
- The next step is to swap them both with the right substitution. The substitution of cake flour for each cup (128 grams) of all-purpose flour is 1 cup and 2 tbsp (128 grams) of cake flour.
- Also, there is a little rhyme to remember this ratio ie., “For an extra-fluffy cake, add 2 tablespoons to the bake!”
- Stop scooping up the cake flour with a measuring cup. If you would do this way then it takes much more flour than the required amount. So, use a big spoon and transfer the flour into the measuring cup till it gets full and a bit mounded.
- Measuring the cake flour with utmost accuracy is really crucial in baking recipes. Because there is a chance to dry and crumble your recipe when you use extra flour. When you take a little flour then your baked good consistency will be flat and greasy.
- Leveling the flour with the back of a knife is also a must-do step when measuring the flour.
Method 2 - Converting All-Purpose Flour to Cake Flour
- Firstly, measure the cup of all-purpose flour that the recipe calls for and add it to a small bowl. Here we are taking a cup means 128 grams of all-purpose flour.
- Now, take out the 2 tbsp (17 grams) of all-purpose flour from the bowl.
- In the place of removed flour, add cornstarch to it. For 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, add 2 tablespoons (29.6 ml) (15 grams) of cornstarch.
- In this step, sift the measured all-purpose flour and cornstarch collectively 5 times.
- Finally, this all-purpose and cornstarch mixed flour can be used as a cake-flour substitute in your recipe with no other changes.
Method 3 - Swap All-purpose Flour with Cake Flour Using a Kitchen Scale to Weigh
- First, opt for the kitchen scale instrument for cooking.
- A kitchen scale is the best way to measure the quantities of the ingredients more precisely.
- Set the kitchen scale to zero and take a clean bowl to place on it.
- Again set the kitchen scale to zero and then continue measuring the cake flour.
- Pour 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of cake flour into the clean bowl kept on the kitchen scale using the spoon.
- Once it comes to 128 grams of cake flour measurement on the screen of the kitchen scale then use it in the recipe in place of 128 grams of all-purpose flour.
- If you think it exceeds the required measurements then remove the excess grams of flour from the bowl with the help of a spoon.
Also Check:
- Can You Substitute Almond Flour For Regular Flour
- Can you substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour
Cake Flour Vs All-Purpose Flour | What's The Difference & When To Use?
Both Cake flour and All-purpose flour are made from wheat grains. All-purpose flour is made from hard and soft wheat whereas cake flour is made from soft wheat. The major difference between cake and all-purpose flour is protein and gluten content. All-purpose flour has high protein content so it develops more gluten that results in more elasticity, volume, and strength in the end product. Cake flour is low in protein content so it is weak in gluten content, as a result, all your delicate baked goods like pastries, cakes, and biscuits are soft, fluffy & tender crumbs. The weight of All-purpose flour is about 4.5 ounces per cup while the weight of cake flour is about 4 ounces per cup.