How to Make Cake Flour (Video Tutorial)
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
I love making my own cake flour substitute. It has just 2 ingredients and takes 2 minutes to make! You can bake the best vanilla cupcakes even if you don’t stock cake flour in your pantry!
Making your own is great because you know exactly what’s in it. You can choose to use organic unbleached flour which is tough to come by when you’re looking at the limited cake flour selections in the baking aisle.
It’s also way less expensive to make it yourself and your results will be equally amazing. Read on to watch the quick video tutorial and see just how easy it is!
Enjoy this quick video tutorial and see just how easy this is!
Cake Flour Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour, minus 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp corn starch
Note: If your recipe calls for more cake flour, increase the ingredients proportionally; i.e. 2 cups flour (minus 4 Tbsp flour) with 4 Tbsp corn starch, etc.
How to make cake flour:
1. Measure flour by scooping it into a measuring cup and scraping the top off with the back of a knife to level it. Remove 2 Tbsp flour and return to your flour bin.
2. Add 2 Tbsp corn starch to your flour
3. Sift the two together about 4-5 times to make sure they are really well combined. I used the OXO sifter (actually I use it for everything!)
P.S. Click here to subscribe to our YouTube cooking channel and be the first to see our new video posts. Humongous thank you to those of you who already subscribe.
The science behind cake flour:
Taking out some of the flour removes some of the gluten and the corn starch works as a tenderizing agent, producing a fluffy and super soft cake with a finer crumb.
How to Make Cake Flour (Video Tutorial)
Ingredients
- Cake Flour Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, minus 2 Tbsp
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Measure flour by scooping it into a measuring cup and scraping the top off with the back of a knife to level it. Remove 2 Tbsp flour and return to your flour bin.
- Add 2 Tbsp corn starch to your flour
- Sift the two together about 4-5 times to make sure they are really well combined.
Notes
If your recipe calls for more cake flour, increase the ingredients proportionally; i.e. 2 cups flour (minus 4 Tbsp flour) with 4 Tbsp corn starch, etc.
The science behind cake flour:
Taking out some of the flour removes some of the gluten and the corn starch works as a tenderizing agent, producing a fluffy and super soft cake with a finer crumb.
More scrumptious goodies that call for cake flour:
Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Blackberry Cream: These are prize-winning cupcakes! They are incredibly fluffy and you wont be able to stop after just one.
Chocolate Layer Cake with Creme Chantilly Frosting: it sounds fancy, but it’s really easy and turns out stunning, soft, chocolatey and delicious.
Cherry Surprise Honey Cupcakes: These are light, fluffy, made with honey in leu of sugar and have a sweet cherry surprise in the center.
Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes: Perfection every time; these are my go-to cupcakes. They go well with just about any frosting.
The Storybook Cake Roll will make your taste buds dance. Moist, chocolatey, and just scrumptious!
I hope this tutorial is helpful to ya! Be sure to pin it for future reference ;). Have an awesome weekend my friends!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I made a cake substituting all purpose flour for the cake flour and only did it for one cup but the recipe callled for 21/2 CUPS
cake flour so my cake came out very dense and only one inch thick. So I realize I only added 2 tbsps corn starch and for 21/2 cups I should have added 5 total so it ruined my cake……
Sorry to hear that, Marjorie. Be careful with measuring the ingredients next time as it is important to measure the ingredients correctly.
Hi can u share eggless recipe of sponge cake
I don’t have that recipe at this time but I will add it to my list. Have you tried our eggless chocolate cake recipe?
Hi Natasha. Love your recipes. When you make the cake flour for this recipe do you still use 1 cup of flour and take out 2 tablespoons or 1 and 1/4 cups of Cdn. AP flour remove 2 tablespoons of flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. I am just a little confused. Thanks Judy
Hi Judy, I substitute 2 Tbsp of flour with corn starch. If you watch the video tutorial, it will be more clear.
I used this cake flour for my sponge cake yesterday and it really helped 🙂
It used to collapse as it cooled but now, it stays nice and tall. I think the corn starch makes all the difference.
Thank you so much for sharing that with mus, Natalya!
Hi Kathleen, Thank you so much for sharing your vanilla cake. About how long do you bake at 350˚F?
Hello! Is there any ingredient i can use instead of cream cheese? In my country it’s not very popular and many cake recipes require cream cheese.
Hi Sara, which recipe was the cream cheese question intended for?
Hi Natasha, do you think it’s ok to use potato starch instead of corn starch?
Hi Lena, I honestly haven’t tested that. It may work but I would suggest googling that to see if anyone else has tried.
Adding cornstarch does not make cake flour. Cake flour is distinguished from all purpose by its soft low protein wheat variety and bleaching.
Due to wheat variety and bleaching, cake flour has a protein content of around 7% – 8% protein. By contrast, all purpose flour is between 10% – 11.7% protein.
Aside from the variety of wheat, the treatment makes a significant difference in performance. Bleaching changes the molecular structure of protein and starch. That in turns changes absorption rates and starch gelatinization rate during baking. It’s these changes that produce the desirable qualities of cake, including high rise, fine crumb, and short bite.
Cornstarch produces the exact opposite. It does nothing to change the starch gelatinization rate of flour during baking. It’s highly hygroscopic, so it absorbs massive amount of moisture. Worse, when wet, it becomes very thick and gummy. Cake batter contains way too much moisture for cornstarch to become anything but gooey.
I’ve studied in the US and abroad. Never has a baking instructor advocated use of cornstarch in cake batter. But some have explicitly stated never to do this for the reasons I stated above.
Hi Cate, thanks for sharing the science behind cake flour. This substitution does work well in baking recipes that call for cake flour and it is our go-to when we don’t have cake-flour on hand.
Cake flour is chlorinated pastry flour. Pastry flour is flour made from soft wheat so it has lower protein, which produces softer, more tender baked goods than all purpose flour which is made with hard wheat & is best for bread, etc. Chlorinating the flour alters the starch molecules so they can absorb more water and gives it strength to hold heavy ingredients like sugar so cakes rise properly & can hold their volume without falling flat. So substituting some corn starch would help absorb water. But if you’re making a high ratio cake that has more sugar than flour it would be worth it to find real cake flour. But I’m looking forward to trying this substitution for these cupcakes!
Thank you for sharing your insight Maggie! Please let me know what you think of the recipe!
It was a hit! Very tasty & soft & moist!
I’m happy to hear that Maggie! Thanks for sharing 😀
I’ve never bothered with paying attention to cake flour vs all purpose flour but decided to try this recipe to make baked doughnuts. Total success achieved! Easy substitution with minimal work in the sifting resulted in a fabulous finished product. Thanks for the tips!🍩👍
My pleasure! I’m happy you found it helpful! 🙂
Hi! I am going to use Cup4Cup gluten free flour for this recipe. Do you know if the “make your own cake flour” approach will work for this?
Thank you
Hi Jaimi, I’ve never experimented with making gluten free cake flour. I imagine it would work, but I just haven’t tested it to say for sure.
Hi! Is this flour, a low protein flour? I have some recipes, that need low protein flour,I can’t find in my local market. Thank you for your time!
HI Amalia, cake flour has less protein/gluten than all-purpose flour just because you are taking some out and adding corn starch as a replacement. I found this article form the kitchn that may help you with selecting low protein flowers.
Hello, Thank you for the recipe!
For making the cake flour:
Instead of subtracting two tablespoons flour from the full cup, why not simply add two tablespoons of cornstarch to the cup, before the adding the flour, and then add enough flour to make one cup?
I love that approach! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks, I was going to ask this same question. Makes more sense to me :~)
Hi
Thank you for the tip!
Regards from Mexico!
You are welcome Tere! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
How many grams is your cup of flour equivalent to?
Thanks for your help
Aniqah, this chart may help in the future when looking at US measurements. One cup of flour is 120 grams.
I tried some of the cakes from your blog, they were delicious!! Especially Boccone Dolce Cake. You decorate cakes so gorgeous. Do you make up these recipes yourself?
Thank you so much Lana. They come from a variety of sources – some I make up myself, some are inspired by cookbooks, magazines, pinterest, many are from family, friends and even readers. The Boccone Dolce cake was originally from a gal I met through my blog (Mila Ivanov). Being immersed in food for a living, I can’t help but draw from everything :).
Hi. If I use only all purpose flour… Is it ok? At now I don’t have corn starch.
It depends on the recipe you are using the flour for. Some recipes you can use all-purpose flour but a cake flour will almost always give you a lighter crumb with a cake. It just depends on the recipe.
Hi Natasha,
Do you know if it’s possible to use Arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch? In many recipes you can use arrowroot as a substitute to cornstarch…wondering if anyone’s tried it in this cake mix?
Hi Jenya, I haven’t seen it done to make cake flour so I’m not sure. Sorry I’m not much help. Maybe someone else has tried?
Hi,
Cornstarch same thing as corn flour ?
No, corn flour is ground cornmeal and cornstarch is different.
Thank you so much for the recipe for cake flower, and explaining the science behind it. I knew if made cakes fluffier, but never know why. Now my baking efforts won’t be hindered when the pantry is low. Happy baking!
Yay! I’m happy to hear that.
The cornstarch you have on the photo is a GMO corn starch. They do sell now non GMO cornstarch in Whole Foods and such
Thank you so much for sharing that! I had no idea. I didn’t even think of that.
Hi, can I use bleached Canadian flour for this recipe?
I haven’t tried this with Canadian flour, but since Canadian flour produces a softer product (since it has a higher gluten content), than all-purpose flour, you might use a little less corn starch when making it. I’d probably try cutting the corn starch to even 1 Tbsp. I’ve actually just used straight Canadian flour for some cake flour recipes such as my vanilla cupcakes and had great results without turning it into cake flour, so it depends on the recipe. Hope that helps 🙂
I always wondered what made cake flour “cake flour.” So easy! By the way, your photographs are gorgeous!
It’s cake! 🙂 Thank you so much Melissa for the sweet compliment 🙂
I’ve got all ingredients at home and can’t wait to try it! I can’t believe how easy to make it is and of course cheaper than store bought!!!
Totally! (wow I sounded a little like a surfer for a second there..) ;). It can also be relaxing to sift flour over and over in a strange, only a food blogger would think so, sort of way. I’ll have you know, that was one of my best comment replies yet! lol. I didn’t get enough sleep last night. This time change business is throwing off my game. 🙂
Your pregnancy looks good on you! 🙂 and amazing how much more they will charge you for this flour at the store, isn’t it?
Awww thanks so much Marina 🙂 I agree; it’s crazy how much a small box of cake flour costs.
Who knew it was this easy?! I would’ve been doing this a long time ago lol. Thanks for posting this!
You’re so welcome. It really is easy peasy and you can pre-make a bag of it for future use 🙂