Are you looking for the best cake flour substitutes? You did right coming here. I had wanted to bake some nice, fluffy soft cakes for a party, and alas, I was out of cake flour. That culminated in me searching for the best substitutes for cake flour, and the good news is that I found some best ones. 

So, what are the best substitutes for cake flour? Some of the best cake flour substitutes are all-purpose flour, arrowroot powder, cornstarch, oat flour, cassava flour, and pastry flour. 

Cake flour is a low-protein flour that is a major ingredient in making delicate cakes, pastries, and biscuits. This flour is made of finely milled wheat with less protein, resulting in a perfect soft texture. Cake flour is imperative if you want to create magic with your baking recipes. But what can you do if you are out of cake flour? You need the help of a few substitutes, of course. Before getting onto its substitutes, let us explore cake flour and its details.

Quick Peek: Cake Flour

The following scribbles tell you what cake flour is, its flavor, texture, culinary uses, and health benefits.

What Is Cake Flour?

Cake flour is a variety of wheat flour to start with. It is made using finely milled soft red winter wheat. It is also known as super fine flour or extra-fine flour. It has around 5 and 8 percent gluten protein content – the lowest among all other types of flour.

What Makes Cake Flour Special?

So, what is the talk about cake flour? Cake flour is a finely milled flour that renders recipes a soft, fluffy texture. It has less gluten protein content, and you know the deal with gluten – the less the gluten content, the lighter your baked goods will be. It is also high in starch, making it easy to blend well with other baked goods.

Describing Cake Flour: Flavor and Texture

Cake flour has the pleasant taste of a cake; did you think so? Got you! Cake flour doesn’t have a particular taste or flavor of its own. It is basically a starchy powder that is flavorless. Cake flour has a tender texture when raw but renders a light, loose and fluffy texture when used in recipes.

Uses of Cake Flour

As suggested by the name, cake flour is used to make cakes. Not just ordinary cakes but soft, delicate, fluffy, and airy cakes. The flour is not limited to the preparation of cakes alone. Cake flour can be used to make light and airy biscuits, rolls, sponges, muffins, cupcakes, and pastries. It can’t be consumed raw (forget about the bland flavor) since it could be infected with bacteria. 

Cake Flour On The Health Radar | Looking Through The Wellness Telescope

Cake flour has small amounts of nutrients and minerals – riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, selenium, copper, zinc, iron, and phosphorus. It has high levels of calories and carbohydrates. It can’t be deemed very healthy since it undergoes bleaching, whereby the bran and germ, the main nutrient sources, are removed. Consumption of cake flour can also cause a spike in insulin levels.

Why Should We Substitute Cake Flour?

Cake flour is a finely milled flour type with less protein content. It is also expensive and is not easily available whenever you wish. That makes it imperative to find the best cake flour substitutes. 

Also, since cake flour is not a very healthy ingredient, you might want to use a few substitutes that can give you nutritional and health benefits. These best substitutes of cake flour, when mixed with, are also easily available and affordable. So, shall we talk about the best cake flour substitutes right away?

9 Best Cake Flour Substitutes 

Now that you know everything you need to know about cake flour let us discuss the ten best substitutes for cake flour.

1. All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour is a type of wheat flour, also known as refined flour or simply flour. It can be prepared using hard and soft wheat varieties. These wheat varieties are refined, milled, and bleached. It is an often-used flour in baking recipes. It is not an extremely healthy ingredient since the brand and germ are removed. But it is a good source of a few micronutrients. 

All-purpose flour has a bland flavor, and when mixed, cornstarch is one of the best cake flour substitutes. Adding cornstarch to all-purpose flour gives structure to cakes or other baked goods. Both ingredients are easily available and affordable and can work as the best substitute for cake flour.

2. Arrowroot Powder

Arrowroot powder is obtained from processing arrowroot; a tuber called maranta arundinacea. The roots of this plant are dried and ground to form a fine powder called arrowroot powder. It is also known as arrowroot starch and arrowroot flour. It is actively used to thicken sauces, gravies, and soups.

Arrowroot powder is flavorless with a fine, powdery texture. Arrowroot powder, when mixed with all-purpose flour, is another best cake flour substitute. Using arrowroot powder will give a moist texture to baked goods. The thing to be noted is that using arrowroot powder will get your cake cooked a bit earlier. 

3. Gluten-Free Flour Blend

A gluten-free flour blend is a flour mix made of white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and brown rice flour. It can be used to make muffins, cakes, quick bread, gingerbread cookies, cornbread, and waffles. The flavor and texture of the gluten-free flour blend are almost similar to wheat flour – it has a mild flavor and a powdery texture.

Gluten-free flour blend is another best cake flour substitute due to the flavor and textural profile. Various brands use different ingredients, and the most commonly used are brown rice flour, potato flour, potato starch, coconut flour, oat flour, and almond flour. Since a blend of flours is involved, you might get different textures. So, you must consider the ingredients on the label before choosing a brand for your recipe. 

4. Oat Flour

Oat flour is the flour of ground, rolled oats. It is an extremely healthy, gluten-free ingredient that is used to prepare pancakes, muffins, crisps, waffles, cookies, and bread. It is used in baking recipes to give a nutty flavor and chewy texture. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins and helps in helping with your weight loss regime.

Oat flour has a mild, nutty flavor and a silky texture. Oat flour, when mixed with all-purpose flour, can be used as a cake flour substitute in baking recipes. Using both the flours can affect the flavor of your recipes because oat flour gives you a nutty, toasted flavor.

5. Cassava Flour

Cassava flour is the flour obtained by grinding fibrous roots of the cassava plant. It is a gluten-free flour used as a substitute for wheat flour as well as other types of flour. It is a healthy ingredient that is low in fat, sugar, and calories. It helps boost gut health and manage blood sugar. It has a mild, nutty flavor and a soft, powdery texture. 

Cassava flour can be used as a cake flour substitute due to its mild flavor and soft texture. It can be used in place of cake flour in baking recipes since it doesn’t have an overpowering flavor that affects the flavor of any recipe. The only thing to take care of is that cassava flour absorbs liquid quickly, so you have to add more liquid or use less flour in the beginning. 

6. Pastry Flour

Pastry flour is a type of wheat flour made using milled soft white or soft red winter wheat. It is used in the baking world to make tasty pastries, cookies, pie crusts, biscuits, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. It has a raw flavor and a firm texture. You can get a chewy texture if you add yeast to pastry flour. It is used to render a tender, fluffy texture to recipes. It doesn’t have many significant nutrients to boast of – however, it still contains fiber. It helps in controlling blood sugar and hunger.

Due to its texture and raw flavor, pastry flour is a considerable cake flour substitute. However, it has higher protein content than cake flour which means you will get dense baked goods as a result. Pastry flour is also expensive and might be hard to find, which is its biggest drawback.

7. Bread Flour

Bread flour is flour made using hard spring wheat. It is a specific flour variety used to prepare pizza doughs, crusty bread, pretzels, bagels, and other baked goods. It is a type of hard flour – meaning that it has a high protein content. This high protein content ensures chewiness and texture to baked goods. It has a bland flavor and a powdery texture.

Bread flour is a considerable cake flour substitute due to its mild flavor. Since it has a higher protein content than cake flour, it results in dense baked goods. Although you can substitute cake flour with bread flour on a 1:1 ratio, you can start with less quantity to ensure your baked goods are not very dense. 

8. Self-Rising Flour

Simply put, self-rising flour is the mixture of regular flour, baking powder, and salt. Adding the right amount of baking powder is essential for the leavening process. The usage of self-rising flour can save you from the hassle of adding baking powder. Self-rising flour will ensure that your baked goods rise properly. It is used to prepare bread and pancakes.

Self-rising flour has a mild, salty flavor and a smooth, even texture and thus is a considerable cake flour substitute. Self-rising flour has a less protein content, and thus your baked goods will have a texture similar to those baked with cake flour. Since baking powder and salt are in this flour already, you might have to adjust their quantity while adding. 

9. Almond Flour

Almond flour is the flour of ground almonds. Blanched or unbalanced almonds can be used to prepare almond flour. Blanched almonds refer to peeled almonds, while unblanched almonds are unpeeled almonds. It is used in baking recipes to extend the shelf life of baked goods. It has a rich, nutty flavor and a smooth texture. It is a good source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Almond flour can be a substitute for cake flour due to its distinctive flavor and texture. It can be used to substitute cake flour in recipes in fewer quantities. However, it might not be a choice if you are allergic to almonds or nuts in general. 

Short Recap Of Best Cake Flour Substitutes

That must have been an exhaustive read on the best cake flour substitutes, right? Let me make it easy for you to remember the details with the help of some points.

Best Cake Flour Substitutes In Terms of Flavor And Texture-

1. All-Purpose Flour and Cornstarch
2. Arrowroot Powder and All-Purpose Flour
3. Gluten-Free Flour Blend
4. Oat Flour and All-Purpose Flour

Final Musings

That was all about cake flour and its best substitutes. So, next time you crave a mouth-watering, fluffy cake but find yourself out of cake flour, take the help of these substitutes. These best cake flour substitutes can be used depending on your preferences, and I assure you they will give you good results. Do let me know your experience and I will see you soon with another article. Happy baking, folks!

How To Use Cake Flour Substitutes In A Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)