I started seeing cake flour being use on TV cooking shows about a year ago and I've seen bulk cake flour once but never bought it because of the additives it had in it. So when I was at the supermarket and saw an additive-free cake flour recently, I decided to try it. Cake flour has less protein (gluten) in it than plain/all purpose flour does so it gives a softer texture. If you over beat cake batter made with plain/all purpose or self-raising flour, the extra beating will develop the gluten and instead of having a softly textured cake, it will be firmer.
The cake flour is the Lighthouse brand, sold at Woolworths and probably Coles as well. It's the Lighthouse Biscuit, Pastry and Cake plain flour and because it's plain flour, it contains no rising agent so you have to add baking powder. I use 1 teaspoon of baking powder per one cup of flour.
I made my usual whole orange cake using cake flour and I have to say the texture was a bit softer, but I didn't think it made enough of a difference to warrant the extra expense. I make my orange cake in a swiss roll tin so it doesn't rise much and spreads out. I cut it into squares. Generally, doing this the cake will last us five or six days but after three or four days the cake is beyond its best. Often I freeze half the cake to get around that. However, using the cake flour I was surprised to find the cake was soft and fresh until the end. There are no additives, except for niacin, which is vitamin B3, so I don't worry about that. When I saw the freshness of the cake was extended, I thought I might use cake flour, even at the added cost. BTW, I used the same flour for the biscuits I made with Jamie but it made no difference to the taste or the freshness.
I did some research into cake flour and found you can make it yourself at home, using plain/all purpose flour and cornflour. I made a cake with this homemade flour and it's as good as the Lighthouse brand. I'll see over the coming days if it lasts as well as the orange cake did.
Recipe for whole orange cake.
Recipe for whole orange cake.
According to thekitchn.com, to make your own cake flour at home take one cup of plain/all purpose flour and remove two tablespoons of flour. Then add two tablespoons of cornflour/cornstarch and sift it all together thoroughly. Don't forget to add your baking powder to the flour before you sift.
It always pays to do your research and if this flour works as I think it will, extending the life of my cakes, I'll make up a jar of it and use that instead of buying Lighthouse flour. Lighthouse flour is $3.95/kilo and I buy Aldi plain flour for under $1 a kilo. It's a saving of about two dollars for each kilo of flour I buy, so the savings will be there in the long run.
To make up a kilo/2.2lbs of cake flour:
It always pays to do your research and if this flour works as I think it will, extending the life of my cakes, I'll make up a jar of it and use that instead of buying Lighthouse flour. Lighthouse flour is $3.95/kilo and I buy Aldi plain flour for under $1 a kilo. It's a saving of about two dollars for each kilo of flour I buy, so the savings will be there in the long run.
To make up a kilo/2.2lbs of cake flour:
- Measure out 4 cups plain/all purpose flour, then remove 8 tablespoons of flour
- Add 8 tablespoons of cornflour/cornstarch
- Add 4 teaspoons of baking powder
- Sift together.
What is your experience of cake flour?
