All-purpose flour mixed with cornstarch is a useful approximation when a recipe permits a cake-flour substitute. It is not identical to every commercial cake flour.

Recipe at a glance

Yield: two cups of measured ingredients before sifting; volume after sifting varies
Timing: use the stages and doneness cues below; yield and timing have not been kitchen-verified in this audit.

Estimated prep time: 5 minutes
Estimated cooking/resting: none until used in a baked recipe
Total time: includes the preparation, cooking, and resting stages above.
Difficulty: Level 1 — Beginner ■□□□□
Cost: Level 1 — Budget $$$$$

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, gently spooned and leveled
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour and cornstarch thoroughly, then sift or whisk again to distribute them evenly.
2. For a half batch, use 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. This is equivalent to starting with 1 cup flour, removing 2 tablespoons, and replacing them with 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
3. Measure the amount required by the recipe after mixing, following its flour-measuring instructions.

Cook’s notes

The earlier ingredient list omitted “cups,” and its one-cup measuring method was incorrectly said to yield two cups. The corrected full batch uses two cups of measured ingredients; sifted volume can be greater. For delicate or highly specific cakes, use the flour named in a tested recipe.

Serving suggestions

Use in a compatible cake recipe; this flour mixture is not eaten raw or served on its own.

Beverage suggestions

Choose a beverage for the finished cake; there is no separate pairing for flour.