Hello everyone,
As a new cupcake maker I am still getting used to new products that are used when making cakes so I have a question for the more advanced cupcake/cake makers here when generally making cakes/cupcakes I just follow the recipe if it's asking for self raising flour or plain flour, however I have noticed people discussing about cake flour, my question is would I just substitute the flour in the recipes for cake flour, or doesn't it work like that? Where can I get cake flour from just from the local supermarket or does it have to be from a cake specialist shop or the likes? Also in regards to using cake flour what are your experiences when using it when being up against regular flour. pros and cons?
I look forward to hearing from you 
im not entirely sure if thats just an american thing, ive seens lots of flours in asda labelled bread flour, but not cake. i however have always just stuck to using Bero flour.
I think it has something to do with how fine the flour is ground, ive seen 00 premium grade flour, made my mcdougalls i think it was, but never tried, never really saw the need for it ! i imagine if you could get cake flour, you would just use that in place of what you would normally use. i tend to stick with what i know and have always had good results from using Bero so never bothered changing 
x
im not entirely sure if thats just an american thing, ive seens lots of flours in asda labelled bread flour, but not cake. i however have always just stuck to using Bero flour.
I think it has something to do with how fine the flour is ground, ive seen 00 premium grade flour, made my mcdougalls i think it was, but never tried, never really saw the need for it ! i imagine if you could get cake flour, you would just use that in place of what you would normally use. i tend to stick with what i know and have always had good results from using Bero so never bothered changing
x
Hi Cath,
Thank you for that information, it can be confusing with the different terminology that they use to ours and when finding alternative ingredients over here I did read that it has something to do with the percentage of protein that is in the flour and how it is ground or something? however, yes I do agree with you in regards to the flour that we have over here, I really like Bero flour, I am not sure if I have used McDougalls before, I think so but not entirely sure, haha 
I have even used Tesco's own flour it seems to do the trick. I think I will get a few brands to see if any seem different. but I do prefer Bero 
i think its just down to preference, when i first started baking cakes i couldnt afford to buy Bero, so i bought asda smart price flour, which worked fine except with the self raising you didnt seem to get much lift out of it, even after sifting, but it tasted just the same ! a little experimentation is always fun though, lots of yummy test results to eat hahah! Catherinex
It's a texture thing. Cake flour is very soft and lower in gluten (protein) - you would not try to make bread with it. At the moment, the comparison my mind is making is the difference when you try a high thread count in bed linens. Since cake flour isn't available everywhere though, all purpose will work, especially if that's what the recipe calls for
The UKs equivalent to cake flour is McDougall's Supreme Sponge Flour (blue packet). IT has a much finer texture than plain and self raising. You have to be careful when using it when following American recipes as US cake flour doesn't have any raising agents but UK cake flour does. Using the cake flour provides a much finer crumb. I wouldn't use it in chocolate cake, carrot cake or fruit cake. The only times I ever use it is for vanilla cake or cakes with a "white cake" base such as champagne and strawberry.
At £1.60 per kilo it is super expensive. With regards to normal flours, I use Aldi's brand flour with great results.
Cake flour gives a a cake with a lighter crumb. It is available in regular grocery stores. It can also be "made" at home. For 1 cup of cake flour - fill up 1 cup minus 2 tbsp of all purpose flour and add 2 tbsp of corn starch. Sift together. and there it is.
Make Cake flour [using weights]
1 cup sifted cake flour [100g] = 3/4 cup (84g) sifted bleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (15g) cornstarch.
1 cup cake flour[130g] = 3/4 cup [105g] plus 3 tablespoons (21g) cornstarch
Note: 1 tablespoon = 15ml measurement
The UKs equivalent to cake flour is McDougall's Supreme Sponge Flour (blue packet). IT has a much finer texture than plain and self raising. You have to be careful when using it when following American recipes as US cake flour doesn't have any raising agents but UK cake flour does. Using the cake flour provides a much finer crumb. I wouldn't use it in chocolate cake, carrot cake or fruit cake. The only times I ever use it is for vanilla cake or cakes with a "white cake" base such as champagne and strawberry.
At £1.60 per kilo it is super expensive. With regards to normal flours, I use Aldi's brand flour with great results.
Hi Lisa,
thanks for that tip I think I will try the McDougalls supreme and see how it goes, I don't have an Aldi near me unfortunatly only a Lidl 
I wonder if it will be the same brand?
Haha Catherine, I think I will have plenty tasty test runs as you say it is always fun experimenting
Hey all,
Just got a quick question, has anyone used Homepride flour for making cakes? is it good? I will be purchasing bero tonight but just wanted any information on Homepride.
thanks
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