Hi, just wondering what the difference is between cake flour and all purpose flour.....Do I really need to use cake flour?? It's so much more expensive for a little box. Is there a way to make regular flour into cake flour? Thanks!

Cake flour creates less "holes" in your cake. I use cake flour and I think it's worth it!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=871023

i have purchased cake flour before to make cake that specified using cake flour. To me, the cake flour did not smell like flour at all... it was kind of chemical smell. I purchased another box from a different store and it smelled exactly the same.

Cake flour is made from a softer wheat, so it has less protein, which creates less gluten when it's mixed, which means that the final product will be softer.

Cake flour is 6% protein, and AP flour is 11%, if I remember correctly. White Lily is 8%, which technically is a pastry flour (for pie crusts, etc) and bread flour is 13% protein. The more protein, the stiffer the final baked product.

If you want to substitute AP flour for cake flour, I think you remove 1 or 2 Tbsp of flour per cup...I'd check that, though because I don't have my substitution guides in front of me! Using AP instead of cake flour will make your cake tougher, though, and there definitely is a noticeable difference.

Here's some good info to read that explains the difference between most flours.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/FlourTypes.htm