Is cake flour the same thing as all purpose flour. I have a receipe and it says 2 1?2 cups of cake flour. I am thinking it's the same thing but I don't want to mess this up. Where can I find cake flour?

You can substitute all-purpose flour for the recipe, but use 1T less per cup required.

Cake flour (also often referred to as Cake & Pastry flour) is softer, more delicate and has less protein/gluten than regular all-purpose flour. It is meant for anything with a finer crumb....like cakes, chiffons, etc.

It is usually found at pretty much any grocery store that sells a variety of flours.

When I substitute AP for cake flour, I use 3/4 cup AP plus 2 Tbsp. cornstarch for every cup of cake flour.

Here's a handy baking ingredients substitution chart:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html

HTH

thanks for your help everyone. I knew I can count on this site for the answers.

The two brand names in the supermarket are Soft as Silk and Swan's Down flour. They are approximately about $3.00 for a a 2lb box. More pricier than all purpose but if you don't want to fuss with measurements or extra mixing.