Why you should use cake flour

Cake flour is high in starch and low in protein. It’s the proteins in all-purpose flour that can cause a cake to be tough if the batter is overworked, and cake flour helps to make sure that doesn’t happen. Use cake flour in a recipe when it calls for it and you’re setting yourself up for success every time.

If you don’t have cake flour on hand, substitute 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for 1 cup of cake flour. You can also simply just use all-purpose flour, cup for cup. The results won’t quite be the same, there’s not the same guarantee of success, but you’ll likely still have a delicious cake.