Friday, November 12, 2010

A CAKE FLOUR FIX

Maizena to the rescue


Want to bake an American style cake in France? It could be problematic because cake flour called for in American recipes is not sold in the land of pâtisserie. 

The French often marvel at the heights American cakes attain...the secret?  Cake flour, a highly specialized type of flour not available in France. Years ago when searching for some, a sales lady at the Fauchon fine and imported foods store explained to me that because wheat is such an important agricultural product in France, its importation is strictly regulated with protective laws.

The solution? When using French flour, use half French flour and half cornstarch as a substitution for cake flour. (Note that French and American flours do not produce the same quantities of gluten, so this proportion would not work if using American flour. In that case and if you're in a pinch, a substitute for cake flour can be made with 3/4 cup sifted bleached all-purpose flour and two tablespoons of cornstarch. )

The major French manufacturer of cornstarch has finally caught on to the marketing aspect of lighter cakes and has added a new tag on its Maizena boxes: pour des gâteaux légers.


I was committed to baking an angel food cake--especially after my French husband went through the ordeal of finding an angel food cake pan for me when on a business trip in the States; then once back in France, being momentarily delayed by a customs officer wondering if it were a mini hand washing machine.


Text & photos © 2010 P.B. Lecron

2 comments:

  1. Philosophy is the study of realities, pursuit of wisdom, and commentary on general principles of life. It is concerned with a search of eternal truth, both conceptual as well as practical. It has five areas of search - Epistemology, Metaphysics, Aesthetics, Ethics and History. The instrument used by philosophy to unearth realities or to discover truth is logic, both inductive as well deductive. Educational philosophy is a branch of general philosophy, it gains strength from epistemology. It formulates the aims and objectives or contents of education that, in turn, influence the whole learning environment, society, and future generations. pay for essay

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the fix! I was attempting the New York Times Cooking sugar cookie recipe when I realized cake flour doesn't exist here.

    ReplyDelete