Cakes that rise to the occasion
Tips for high-altitude baking
As a sea-level cook with mile-high grandsons, I’ve had to adjust my favorite celebration cakes to their altitude. One is an indispensable basic vanilla cake that bakes in tender, even layers to frost; it’s ideal for birthdays. To make it work, I reduced the baking powder. Another is a fine-textured pound cake that I’ve used for events from picnics to weddings. It has no leavening to start with; reducing the sugar did the trick. The recipes here produce beautiful results at 5,000 to 6,000 feet (in a convection oven, use the shorter baking times). To adapt your basic cake formulas to elevated conditions, use the chart below.
| Ups and downs for cake recipes at high altitudes | |||
| Change | 3,000 feet | 5,000 feet | 7,000 feet |
| Baking powder Reduce each teaspoon | by 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. | by 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. | by 1/4 tsp. |
| Sugar Reduce each cup | by up to 1 tbsp. | by up to 2 tbsp. | by 1 to 3 tbsp. |
| Liquid Increase each cup | by 1 to 2 tbsp. | by 2 to 4 tbsp. | by 3 to 4 tbsp. |
| Oven temperature Increase | 3° to 5° | 15° | 21° to 25° |
