Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Recipes › High Altitude Recipes?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

High Altitude Recipes?

post #1 of 6
9/27/12 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Hi Everyone,
I am having a very hard time with certain recipes where I currently live-in Denver, at 5000 feet. In particular, the cakes tend to fall in the center. If anyone is willing to share some high altitude recipes for any flavor cake, I would so appreciate it!
Thanks,
Shauna
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 6
9/27/12 at 6:40pm
Hi, ShaunaNicole, I'm in Colorado Springs at around 6200 ft. There's definitely a learning curve to baking at this altitude. I don't have specific high altitude recipes, but I adjust for it. At the most basic level, you need to:

decrease sugar by 2 tbs per cup
increase liquid by 2 tbs per cup*
decrease leavening by 1/4 tsp per tsp

*sometimes more, it helps to know what your batter consistency should be

All of this becomes habit after a while and you find yourself just automatically making the adjustments in your head as you read a recipe.

It also helps to separate your eggs; beat the whites to soft peaks; fold them into the batter at the end.

I've found that some recipes simply don't work at high altitude no matter what you do. I've settled into tried and true recipes now, but I never try a new recipe without a trial version (or 2 or 3) first. I've recently been playing with a peanut butter cake recipe that took 4 tries to get the proper adjustments.

I bake at a slightly lower temp (325) for a slightly shorter time. If a recipe says 35-40 minutes, I start checking at 25 minutes. FYI, I know some people disagree with this advice but it works for me so I keep on suggesting it to people who are having trouble with high altitude baking.

Good luck!
~Elcee~
http://www.facebook.com/IcedandDazzle
http://www.icedanddazzle.com
http://beautifullyembellishedcakes.blogspot.com/

Check out Colorado's premier sugar art show on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/SweetTimesintheRockies
Reply
~Elcee~
http://www.facebook.com/IcedandDazzle
http://www.icedanddazzle.com
http://beautifullyembellishedcakes.blogspot.com/

Check out Colorado's premier sugar art show on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/SweetTimesintheRockies
Reply
post #3 of 6
9/27/12 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Elcee. I've done a bunch of reading on the adjustments rec for altitude, but yours is much more concise! Thanks!

Does anyone else have specific recipes that are reliable? Even doctored cake mix recipes would be fine with me if I could depend on them. Actually, the cake mix WASC is one of the recipes that works for me...
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 6
9/27/12 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Elcee. I've done a bunch of reading on the adjustments rec for altitude, but yours is much more concise! Thanks!

Does anyone else have specific recipes that are reliable? Even doctored cake mix recipes would be fine with me if I could depend on them. Actually, the cake mix WASC is one of the recipes that works for me...
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 6
10/7/12 at 2:18pm
I'm in Pueblo at just under 4800 feet. I really like the white velvet cake recipe from CakeBoss (the software maker) - http://www.cakeboss.com/WhiteVelvetCake.aspx. It did very well for me, with no adjustments to the recipe.

I have good luck with Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe with the following modifications: Reduce baking powder to 1 tsp., reduce baking soda to 3/4 tsp, use 1 cup sour cream instead of 1 cup milk.

Interestingly, I find my cakes take a lot longer to bake than most recipes call for. Plus, I can't fill my pans as full unless I use a collar, otherwise they will overflow.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 6
10/7/12 at 8:31pm
I checked out "Pie in the Sky" by Susan Purdy from the local library. In her book, she includes charts for baking at any altitude. Her cake recipes are delicious.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Recipes
Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Recipes › High Altitude Recipes?