Cake Flour or Regular?
 

I want to make the 'perfect' pound cake for the upcoming holidays. I usually use regular flour but was wondering if cake flour would be better.

Your thoughts please. Tips and suggestions for a making a better cake also welcome.

It's a pretty complicated issue, I guess. Since King Arthur Flour is pretty much all I buy, I checked their blogs to learn more about a cake flour vs. regular. You can read all about it here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/...of-cake-flour/ They discuss all the pros and cons for pound cake, etc. Good luck. I don't think I've bought cake flour in years, but what probably matters is the recipe you use. I think you can get good pound cake recipes on King Arthur's site and see what you prefer. Happy baking!

I think for pound cake the regular flour would work better. Pound cake is a sturdy cake, and regular cake is light and fluffy. That's just my opinion, but I've been baking successfully over 50 years.

Unless a recipe specifically calls for cake flour, I use regular all-purpose.

i use regular all-purpose flour that is what i use..

I, too, use regular, all-purpose flour. It always seems to work.

I think you're only supposed to use cake flour when the recipe specifically calls for it. I have a feeling it would be too light for pound cake. Why don't you google it?

If your recipe calls for cake flour and you don't have any there is a substitution you can google. It involves measuring out your flour and taking out I think two Tbs. Then replace it with an equal amount of cornstarch and sift 5X to make it light. I've done it but seldom so I have to re-google it every time. I too doubt that a poundcake would use cake flour.

I usually use non-bleached flour and the last pound cake I made tasted really good.

Personally, I find Duncan makes the best pound cake, although in a biz!..use it to make Easter lamb cakes every year...never lost a head or ear!!!!!

My cream cheese pound cake recipe calls for cake flour. But unless a recipe calls for it, I would not use it. Maybe the cream cheese pound cake needs a lighter flour. I say it is butter, cream cheese, sugar, and eggs with just enough flour to hold them together. It is a yummy cake, so I rarely make it as I can't leave it alone if it is in my house!

While involved in something corn starchy I read the "Cook's Tips" part of the label on the large (35 oz.) can of Argo Corn Starch. Some wonderful Home Ec. teacher, long since gone to her reward, told us that one could make their own cake flour. Lo and behold, Argo has the recipe printed on the can.

And I quote, "For 1 cup Cake Flour combine 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour with 2 Tbsp. Argo Corn Starch."

PLEASE NOTE that I have never done this and cannot vouch for success BUT it has come to my attention that what is printed on the label of a food related product is usually successful. Thinking about it, printing something incorrect or failing on your label would be counter productive to sales.

Silly story. My family has been using a fruitcake recipe for generations. Three generations of us have made the recipe - same EXACT bag of flour and other ingredients as well as oven. My grandmother and mother baked fruitcake that was dense and the fruit was at the bottom of their loaves. Mine was light (angelfood-ish), fluffy, and the fruit was throughout the loaf. We could not figure it out but it happenned time after time. We checked as many variables as we could think of: how I used the mixer, temperature of ingredients, etc. Every fruitcake I baked was fluffy fruitcake with fruit throughout. Theirs weren't. (Note: fruitcake was a big deal in the family. The joke, until I came along, was the fruit on the bottom.) No mystery any longer. I am the only one left.) We never solved the problem.

Thanks for being patient with the digression.

Pat

I only use regular unbleached flour in all my cakes.

I think you make up some samples and let me test them for you....

Thanks guys! I'll keep you posted. :thumbup:

Do you share your fruit cake recipe?

Apology first. I am having a horrible time learning how the mechanics of the board work. I can't even stay logged in for more than one addition to a thread. Please forgive me for sticking this in here ut I've struggled with other choices for about a half hour. No go. But I CAN nake this happen.

I am delighted and highly flattered that anyone would be interested in sharing the supposed to be a brick fruitcake recipe. Please contact me (I know I am the only one who cannot figure out how to do that.) It will be forthcoming.

Pat

This is a timely post for me. I made my pound cake recipe the same as always. The old Better Homes and Garden cook book. It always turned out fine except this time. It was so dry it couldn't be eaten alone. I am going to end up making a recipe I found on line for a breadtype pudding only with cake.

I have to say that I hadn't use King Arthur Flour until a few years ago - must say I am glad I made the change - I have never seen it on sale like the other flours but I no longer buy any other brand.

All other factors being the same, I'm wondering about the method of mixing the cakes. The more dough is worked (after the liquid is added to the dry ingredients), the more gluten is released and the heavier the end product will be. A heavier cake would prevent the fruit from rising evenly. Just a thought.