No Cake Flour in Australia

Hello Feliz -- I hope the following helps:

(1) Australian wheat is pretty hard (ie, high protein/gluten), and so recipes have always adapted or been designed to cope with this. Self-raising flour is not cake flour! It is usually 10+% protein, while cake flour is lower, it is not treated in the way that US cake flour is... and most importantly, it contains a number of raising agents, so would not be suitable.

(2) The standard Australian solution to the cake flour issue is to mix plain (all purpose) flour and some cornflour (cornstarch). Stephanie Alexander uses a ratio of just under 1 part cornflour to 3 parts plain flour. So, if your recipe calls for, say, 240gm cake flour, then combine 60gm cornflour and 180gm plain flour. Other books use a smaller proportion of cornflour.

(3) If the above approach isn't satisfactory, it's possible to buy some soft Italian flours at various European shops (at least in MEL and SYD), and there's a USAmerican shop in MEL which sells "Swan's Cake Flour": www.usafoods.com.au

Have you tried a local bakery? They might have lower protein flours on hand and be willing to sell you some.

Swans down, by the way, is really horrible tasting. If you're striving for a perfectly white cake, though, it does the trick.

Cake Flour in Aust

I find that the substitution of more than 2 tablespoons of maize cornflour with enough plain flour to make 1 cup [total] produces cake that is too fragile and "brittle".

I have used wheaten cornflour - same amounts - and it produces a softer product than straight plain flour.

Also the substitution of 1-2 tablespoons of custard powder [good brand] with enough plain flour to make 1 cup [total] produces cake that is light and yummy.

SUPER SPONGE CAKE
1 Cup Self Raising flour
2 Tablespoons Custard Powder
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
4 oz butter
2 Eggs
Put all in bowl and mix for 6 minutes. Bake 7" sandwich tin [greased andpaper-lined on bottom] in moderate oven for 35 minutes.

Hey oh

Feliz, it looks more that auzzi is saying to replace the maize cornflour with custard powder is the better way to go in this style recipe.

I have used corn flours and I also do not like them the best. I find millet flours, spelt flours, and rice flours better. I can't speak to their abilities in pastery use generally, but a 1/3rd 2/3rd millet to rice in full sub for wheat flour in corn bread does nice.

Cake Flour substitute

Sorry I was not clearer:

2 tablespoons [Australian = 8 teaspoons] of cornflour* placed in a measuring cup and covered with enough plain flour [all-purpose flour] to make up the full measuring cup [1 cup in total]
EQUALS
1 cup cake flour substitute

* either wheaten or maize cornflour can also be used.

2 tablespoons [Australian = 8 teaspoons] of custard powder placed in a measuring cup and covered with enough plain flour [all-purpose flour] to make up the full measuring cup [1 cup in total]
EQUALS
1 cup cake flour substitute

Custard Powder is either based on maize or wheaten cornflour: tweaked during manufacture to produce a pre-mix powder.


NOTES: [totally irrelevant}
Custard powder was invented by a man for his wife who was allergic to eggs - the major ingredient of custard.

Corn in cornflour refers to the fact that corns are the grains, kernels or seeds of cereal crops such as wheat, rye, barley, and maize. Subsequently, Australian cornflour can be either maize or wheaten in origin.

Woolworths now carry a "cake, biscuit, pastry" flour both plain and self raising. Haven't tried it yet.