Help understanding American recipe?

[luzula]

I would like to make this cake recipe. What does it mean when it says "1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided" in the ingredient list? First I read it as "one to one half a cup", but that doesn't make sense. Is this in fact an American way of writing "one and a half"? And why does it say "divided"? Also it's a mystery to me why it says in the instructions that you should use "1-1/4 cups flour" instead of "1-1/2 cups flour". I can't see anywhere else in the recipe that uses flour. It does say "test kitchen approved", so I assume it's tested and proofread...

Comments

[luzula]

At least dl into ml is easy. I don't think one dl of flour always weighs the same though, it depends on the moisture content of the flour.