Flour is not interchangeable. If your recipe calls for cake flour, you should always use cake flour, not all-purpose flour. Cake flour is sometimes hard to find in stores because it’s sold in a box, not a bag, and isn’t usually with the rest of the flour. There are different brands, but in Utah, you’ll be looking for Softasilk in a pink box.

If your recipe calls for 2 cups of sifted cake flour, here’s what that means. Fill your sifter (like the picture), place the measuring cup under the grate and fill it. Sifting the flour adds a lot of air and makes it much less compact than if you scoop it out of your container. You can see then, why you would NOT measure the flour first, then sift it. If you do this, you end up with way more flour than is necessary and suffer through a dry cake, cupcake, or brownie.