How to Replace Cake Flour (3 Methods to Try in a Pinch)

Sometimes you start a dish only to discover halfway through that you’re missing an ingredient. Cake flour is one of those items that not everyone usually has on hand. Nonetheless, cake flour is used in many recipes, particularly those for baked goods.

So, what should you do if you don’t have cake flour but still want to bake? These easy substitutions will assist!

Why Use Cake Flour

Before we get into how to replace cake flour, it’s important to understand why you’d need cake flour in the first place. Cake flour has much less protein than all-purpose flour and even less protein than bread flour.

Because of the lower protein content, cake flour has less gluten. Cake flour has less gluten than other flours, making it lighter and fluffier, resulting in softer, fluffier pastries.

You want your cake, muffins, or soft cookies to be pleasant and supple when you bake them. Using cake flour is a simple approach to get these outcomes.

A chewy, firm texture is great for bread, but when it comes to cake, lighter is preferable!

Why Substitute Cake Flour

The most typical reason for needing a cake flour alternative is because you don’t have any on hand. Although some individuals may just use all-purpose flour, which is more popular in households, this choice will have an impact on your baking.

If you want that ideal, soft texture, use a cake flour replacement rather than simply all-purpose flour. You’ll be happy you did!

You might also try using a cake flour replacement to enhance your cake recipe. For example, you may attempt to make your cake a bit moister.

In this situation, you might try the arrowroot substitution described further down. It’s always a good idea to strive to improve your recipes, and experimenting with cake flour substitutes might be a fantastic approach to make your favorite cake even better!

Cake Flour vs. Self Rising Flour

Many people believe that the soft, fluffy baked products produced by cake flour are the result of a leavening agent added to the flour. This, however, is not the case.

Cake flour is just a softer kind of wheat flour. Cake flour-based baked products are softer and rise more readily because the flour is so light, enabling the steam in the cake and the leavening chemicals used to easily push the cake upward. Cake flour has nothing added to it and is just naturally soft!

Nevertheless, self-rising flour contains leavening chemicals. Self rising flours often include baking powder, making them ideal for producing fast breads, pancakes, or muffins. Your baked items will get a little boost, but this is due to the chemical leavener, not the flour itself.

Cake flour and self-rising flour are not interchangeable. Although while self-rising flour produces soft baked products, it contains a significant quantity of gluten, which you want to avoid when making cakes.

Don’t worry, there are various alternatives to cake flour!

1 – Cake Flour Substitute with Cornstarch

If you have all-purpose flour on hand, you’re already halfway to a superb cake flour alternative. You just need corn starch now! By limiting the production of gluten during baking, adding cornstarch to all-purpose flour can help keep your baked products soft.

Keep in mind that gluten in cake results in a coarser, chewier cake—you want light and fluffy! Cornstarch gives your cake structure while it bakes and provides a wonderful sponginess that is also characteristic of cake flour.

To prepare a cake flour replacement using all-purpose flour and cornstarch, sift 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup cornstarch together. Make sure they’re nicely combined! Then, exactly like cake flour, use this mixture.

If you just need one cup, simply scoop one cup of the mix and continue with your recipe. It’s as simple as that!

2 – Arrowroot for Cake Flour

You may use arrowroot in the same way you used cornstarch and all-purpose flour to produce a cake flour replacement.

Instead of 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup cornstarch, add 1 cup arrowroot powder. The arrowroot powder will also assist your baked products remain soft by preventing gluten from developing while they bake.

If you use arrowroot powder, your cakes may bake a bit quicker, so check for doneness a few minutes earlier than if you used ordinary cake flour.

One advantage of combining arrowroot powder with all-purpose flour is that the arrowroot powder tends to trap in moisture, making your baked items even more soft than normal.

Arrowroot is the way to go if you want soft, delicious cake!

3 – Pastry Flour Substitute

If you don’t have all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot to substitute for cake flour, pastry flour is your best bet. Pastry flour has less gluten than all-purpose flour but still contains roughly 11% protein, while cake flour contains just 8% protein.

Pastry flour will keep your cakes soft, but they will be a bit more solid. Since pastry flour has less starch than cake flour, your cakes may have a somewhat gummier texture. When in a need, though, pastry flour will suffice and will not harm your cake!

As directed in the recipe, substitute pastry flour for cake flour. There is no need to change anything!

Although baking using cake flour yields great cake results with little effort, cake flour may be substituted as required. Always start with cornstarch and all-purpose flour since this is the best method to duplicate cake flour.

Nonetheless, try all of the substitutions; you never know when you’ll come upon something that will make your meals even more fantastic!