Flour

The recipes here call for either all-purpose or cake flour. Use either bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour—it will make no difference in these recipes. Cake flour should be plain cake flour, not the self-rising type. To substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour, subtract 2 tablespoons from each cup of cake flour called for. Remember to measure all flour with nested, graduated-size dry-measure cups, not the clear glass or plastic cups meant for measuring liquids. And even more important, gently scoop or spoon the flour into the dry-measure cup, then level it off with the straight side of a metal or rubber spatula or the back of a knife. Don’t dip and sweep.