Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour and Other Substitutions

Substitutions

Baking Powder

To substitute 1 teaspoon baking powder, use ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ½ teaspoon cream of tartar.

Brown Sugar

Replace ½ cup brown sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses and ½ cup granulated sugar.

Butter

When using salted butter in a recipe that calls for unsalted butter, omit any additional salt the recipe calls for. When using unsalted instead of salted, add ½ teaspoon salt to recipe.

Chocolate

To substitute 1 ounce square unsweetened baking chocolate with cocoa, use 4 level tablespoons of cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of vegetable shorting, butter or oil.

Confectioners’ Sugar

1 cup = ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Cornstarch

To substitute 1 tablespoon cornstarch, use 2 tablespoons flour or 2 teaspoons quick cooking tapioca.

Flour

To convert a recipe from all-purpose flour to cake flour use 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of cake flour for each cup of all-purpose flour.

Granulated Sugar

1 cup = 1 ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar or 1 cup packed light brown sugar or 1 cup superfine sugar

Light Brown Sugar

1 cup = ½ cup dark brown sugar plus ½ cup granulated sugar

Self-Rising All Purpose Flour

To use cake flour in a recipe that calls for self-rising all-purpose flour use 1 cup cake flour and 2 tablespoons, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Self-Rising Cake Flour

To use cake flour in a recipe that calls for self-rising cake flour use 1 cup cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Sour Milk (Buttermilk)

Use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using. Or add 1 ¾ teaspoons of cream of tartar to 1 cup whole milk.

Sweet ‘N Low

1 packet = same sweetness as 2 teaspoons of sugar. 12 packets equals 1 cup of sugar.