Question
I have some American recipes that call for "cake flour" what is this and why should I use it instead of normal flour?
Answer
Cake flour is made using a wheat variety called rosella, the grain is stone milled and the bran and germ are sieved off. Cake flour has a lower protein level and the least amount of gluten of all wheat flours, so delivers a delicate and tender crumb and crust. It's ideal when making sponge cakes, genoise, and some cookie batters. Cake flour has a creamy colour and should be refrigerated or frozen to retain freshness. It can be purchased from specialty food suppliers and fine food outlets. Alternately, if you can't find cake flour and your recipe calls for it, substitute plain (all purpose) flour, simply subtract two level tablespoons of flour for each cup of flour used in the recipe.
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