Carla’s Gluten Free Cake Flour Blend – Self-Rising

It’s extremely convenient to have cake flour in a canister that already has everything you need including leavener. It makes gluten-free cake baking a breeze! Since this mix contains baking powder and baking soda, it is perfect for just about any cake recipe. It addresses the times you need an acidic ingredient as well. For example, when you use Dutch-processed cocoa, which is alkaline-based, you should use baking soda.

I have included two versions of this recipe. The first is what you can use in any recipe on this site calling for Self-Rising Flour Blend. The Pastry-Quality Flour version is perfect for chocolate or spiced recipes that are tan or brown in color. It is also ideal for traditional recipes calling for pastry flour. Use this mix to make light and high-rising cakes and cupcakes.

Typically, a gluten free pastry flour will only contain potato starch. Therefore, to lower the protein level I added just a bit of potato starch in this gluten free cake flour blend. I substituted a little of the potato starch for tapioca flour/starch (or cornstarch), which does not contain any protein at all.

The lower protein level provides a softer texture for cakes, muffins, etc., compared to the chewiness you would want in bread. A gluten-free pastry flour blend may only contain white rice flour, but with only an additional gram of protein, per serving, I found that adding a bit of brown rice flour is a healthier choice and still makes a perfect gluten free cake flour blend. Regular (gluten-containing) cake flour contains 8% to 10% protein, versus 5% to 8% in pastry flour. In gluten-free baking we need more than that.

Update: I have found that sorghum flour creates more of a crumb in cakes. If you wish cleaner cuts and fewer crumbs, substitute additional superfine rice flour for the sorghum flour or add additional oil.

I’m sure it would be easy to find a gluten free recipe which calls for your typical rice flours. However, the use of superfine white and brown rice flours improve gluten free baked goods. Its use improves texture and avoids any grittiness. Now, let them eat cake, that’s great!

Note: See some of the recipes on this site using this gluten-free self-rising flour blend at the bottom of this page.

You may find superfine white and brown rice flour at Vitacost.com. They carry Authentic Foods and Vitacost brands. The Vitacost brand is not as fine as Authentic Foods, but it does a great job and will save you money. If you do not have access to purchasing online or the funds, as it costs more than regular rice flour, you can try grinding regular rice flour in a coffee grinder which will make it fine, but not superfine. Better yet, use a mill grinder on the fine setting.

Carla’s Gluten Free Self-Rising Cake Flour Blend

51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: Makes approximately 3 cups

Carla’s Gluten Free Self-Rising Cake Flour Blend

A self-rising gluten free cake flour blend recipe which is not gritty, and as close to the real thing as possible! Non gluten-free dieters cannot tell the difference.

Ingredients:

    For the Cake Flour Blend:
  • 2 cups superfine white rice flour (not regular rice flour)
  • 3/4 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch (or tapioca)
  • 2 teaspoons xanrthan gum
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • For Pastry-Quality Flour:
  • 1-1/4 cups superfine white rice flour (not regular rice flour)
  • 3/4 cup potato starch (or cornstarch)
  • 1/2 cup sorghum (or certified gluten-free oat flour)
  • 1/4 cup superfine brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Instructions:

  1. Whisk together all of the ingredients or shake in a gallon-size resealable storage bag.
  2. Sift all of the ingredients 1 – 2 times. (Sifting makes baked goods lighter.)
  3. Sift the mix again when a recipe calls for sifting.

Tips

Sorghum and oat flour contain higher protein levels compared to rice flour. In addition, they both make baked goods tan in color. This is their purpose in creating a substitute for traditional pastry flour.

If using this flour blend to substitute regular all-purpose flour in a gluten recipe, I suggest baking it at 350°F, no matter the temperature called for in the recipe. You should also add 2 tablespoons in a 2-layer cake recipe.

If cakes fall, it is often a sign of too much leavener or under baking.

Did you know?

Did you know that sorghum flour is digested slower than many other flours, making it a great choice for diabetics?

 

Recipes using Carla’s Gluten-Free Cake Flour Blend:

Gluten Free Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Smooth Cream Cheese Frosing

Apricot Cherry Gluten Free Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe (or Tart)

Gluten Free Pineapple Cherry Upside Down Dump Cake

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe

Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread Recipe

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Gooey Gluten-Free Brownie Recipe: Sweetened with Brown Rice Syrup

Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Recipe

Gluten-Free Boston Cream Pie Recipe

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Recipe

Gluten Free Cornbread

Corn Free Gluten Free Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

Gluten Free Cinnamon Banana Muffins

Gluten Free Cornbread – Cranberry Polenta Bread

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake

Gluten Free Tiramisu Cake

Golden Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Bundt Cake

Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake

Gluten Free Sponge Cake

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Muffins

Gluten Free Twinkies

 

Visit Carla’s Gluten Free Online Store for ingredients you will need.

28 Replies to “Carla’s Gluten Free Cake Flour Blend – Self-Rising”

  1. Hi could you give any recommendations for a gluten free cake recipe (flour) that does not use rice flour. The child I am baking for has multiple allergies, gluten is only one of them. She is allergic to rice and nuts, I am having trouble finding any recipes that don’t contain either rice flour or a nut flour. Thanks in advance for your help.

  2. I have been making your oat bread regularly for the last month (it is the best GF bread we’ve ever eaten!) and would love to use all the leftover egg yolks to make your yellow cake. However, my son is allergic to Rice, what would you recommend as a substitution? We can’t do nuts either. So far he does well with Oats, tapioca, potato, sorghum, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, garbanzo flours

  3. Hi Carla,
    My sister recently was diagnosed diabetic. She craves bread but I believe most to be too high GL for her. Will the sorgum be the best flour choice? Or are there combinations that would be just as good?
    Thanks!

    1. Kathy,

      Gluten free bread is not a smart choice for diabetics at all. If she wants to play it a little safer, almond flour is high in protein and will probably be best. Perhaps you can play around this recipe (http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/grain-free-gluten-free-with-almond-bread/) and lower the starch and increase the almond flour until it reaches safer carb levels for her.

      Another smart choice are breads on the market specifically made for a low-carb gluten-free diet. I have seen one online made predominantly of oat fiber. That would be her best bet, if she can tolerate gluten free oats. I didn’t check how safe the brand is, though. I am currently doing some research to locate some safe/uncontaminated oat fiber so that I can create a low-carb bread recipe.

      I hope this helps.

      Carla

  4. I am allergic to potatoes and have noticed a lot of gluten free baking uses potato starch or potato flour. Is there a comparable substitute?

  5. If I mix this mix leaving out the baking powder, soda and xanthan gum and then add those ingredients acocrding to what my non GF recipe suggests (I’ve substituted this blend for the AP flour) do you figure that could work in cakes or would it be better to mix the GF flour blend as stated and disregard the amounts of soda/BP in the non GF recipe? I hope my question makes sense?!

    Thank you so much for sharing this!!

  6. Hi Carla,

    I’m allergic to wheat and corn. I’ve noticed sourgum flour in a lot of recipes. I’m not sure what its made from. I know it wheat free but does it cantain corn or corn derivatives?

    1. Hi Yvette,

      Sorghum is a grain. It is not related to wheat or corn. It is completely gluten-free. I hope this helps.

      Meanwhile, if you can purchase Authentic Foods “superfine” white and/or brown rice flour (available online and in my Store), I currently use my Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend Recipe + about 2 Tablespoons extra butter, oil or shortening in recipes. Here’s the link to that flour blend recipe: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-all-purpose-flour-blend. You make the mix as instructed and then add additional fat to a regular, gluten recipe. It works about 95% of the time.

      Carla

  7. This is a nice blend! I’ve used it to make Carla’s banana bread & her carrot cake & both tasted wonderful!

  8. Carla,

    I appreciate all the recipes. I used the cake flour recipe to make one of my favorite deserts. At first bite it tasted like I remember but it left an after taste. Any idea what I might have not done right?

    1. Hi Rick,

      I have never had this flour blend be bitter. Your flour may be bad. I have kept brown rice flour too long, and it turns bitter. Check the expiration date on your flour. Also, brown rice flour, more than white rice flour should be refrigerated. Other than that, I would need to see the recipe. Why don’t you email it to me, with the instructions: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/contact.

      Carla

  9. Hi Carla – Thanks for sharing your recipe for the gluten-free cake flour blend. Can you include the weight measurements (grams) in each of the ingredient listed? That’ll be very helpful as I noticed that my own measurement per cup of flour by weight can differ from someone else’s drastically. Just want to make sure I get the same great result as yours. Thanks!

  10. Hi Carla,
    Just wondering, when you substitute this for regular cake flour, do you still add baking powder or baking soda if called for in the recipe? Thanks! (I’m making a wedding cake for a friend and she’s gluten-free)

      1. Thanks! And you can just substitute this mixture for the same amount of cake flour? Definitely trying this on a small scale first.

        1. Stephanie,

          It has worked for most recipes for me. Adding a bit more butter, oil or egg yolk helps create less of a crumb. What I mean by crumb can be viewed in my carrot cake recipe. Next time I make it I’ll be using a bit more fat content, as I suggest above. Here’s the link to the carrot cake recipe: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-carrot-cake-2

          And I’m glad to hear you’ll be experimenting first. Not everyone does that.

          Carla

  11. Hi Carla,

    I am a 9 days into my family being gluten free and need to make a cake for my 5 years birthday. Is the GF Chocolate Cake grainy? or is it smooth? If I am unable to find the superfine rice flour how could I get the regular rice flour thinner? Any suggestions would be great!

    Thanks

    1. Hi Sonja,

      What a great Mom, you are!

      I get my superfine flours online from Authentic Foods: http://authenticfoods.com/products. The use of superfine rice flours prevents all graininess. I have tried grinding regular white rice flour in a food processor and it still was grainy, and did not make it much finer.

      I haven’t tried it, but perhaps using Carol’s gluten-free all purpose flour may work (haven’t tried it): http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/sorghum-flour-blend

      Good luck and let us all know how it turns out!

      Carla

  12. Hi Carla,
    I made your gluten free sandwich bread using sorghum flour (son is allergic to oat) and replaced the potato starch(son allergic to potato) with arrowroot. Finally a wonderful bread. It did fall a little bit while cooling. Thank you so much! My son is also allergic to rice. Is there a good replacement for rice flour in your cake flour blend?

  13. This website is a Godsend! Thank you so much! I am new to gluten free and was so sad until I found your website. Now I can enjoy food again! Cake again! Pancakes again! etc. Thank you soooo very much! God bless you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.