Recipe: flour definitions

Hi, Vicky. I would definitely use the plain flour. Self-rising flour contains leavening agents (and here in the U.S., additional salt). Depending on the cake recipe, you would use baking powder or baking soda or a combination of both. The self-rising flour doesn't allow you the option of choosing. As to cake flour, I don't like to use it. It makes a lighter, dryer cake than all-purpose flour. I like my cakes the way my mom used to make them, kind of dense and moist. Be sure to sift your plain flour before you measure it and, of course, don't pack it. If you want to approximate cake flour, you can just remove 1 tablespoon of flour per cup after you have sifted and measured it. I remember reading somewhere about replacing a tiny portion of the flour with cornstarch in order to approximate cake flour, but I can't remember the exact amounts. But as I said, I prefer my cakes made with old-fashioned plain (all-purpose) flour. As an aside, here in the U.S. we have lots of different types of wheat flour. We have all-purpose flour, bread flour (it has more gluten than all-purpose), cake flour, self-rising flour, pastry flour, and semolina (for making pasta), to name a few. I don't think you can go wrong using plain or all-purpose flour for your cake. Have a terrific holiday!