What is the difference between cake flour
and all purpose flour?

I went out and bought so much all purpose
flour, then looked at the recipe when I got home and
it calls for cake flour!!! (vanilla cake recipe)

it has to do with gluten in the flours. You can utilize the AP flour as you would Cake Flour by taking 2 tbs of AP out of every cup and putting 2 tbs of corn starch in it's place. Make sure you sift these together. HTH

Be careful substituting AP for cake. It is not just a matter of taking 2tbs out. Depending on what you are making it could collapse. This is because in a recipe that is truly written for cake flour usually the amount of sugar and liquid is higher in weight than the flour because cake flour can absorb it. AP flour can't.

A better way is to take out I think 10% of the AP flour and substitute corn starch. Sift the two together about 5-6 times.

I may be wrong on the amount. But if you google "make your own cake flour" someone wrote a blog post on this and this is what she did.

As a reference Cakelove does the same thing only he uses potato starch flour. Both do the same thing and work as the absorbent factor that cake flour does.

Okay, I'm sorry Smallville said the same thing. I should have read her response first. Except you need to take 2 tbsp out to compensate for the lower weight of cake flour. And then take another 2 tblsp out and substitute that with corn starch.

Sorry Smallville for repeating exactly what you said.

Hrmmm thanks guys, I have a bad feeling lol
Where can I buy cake flour?

I don't know about Canada, but I get it in my local grocer. It usually comes in a box not a bag. Swan's Down is the name I get here.

Another brand name of cake flour is softasilk

Thanks! Found some at the grocery store! Who knew! LOL