High Altitude Baking
Grand Junction, CO- Elevation 4,593' (maybe more up here on Orchar Mesa)
Baking is tough at this elevation and very frustrating for someone like me who LOVES to bake. I am especially into cupcakes. Dave got me a book full of cupcake recipes. So, I got myself this book:
There's a lot of advice on high altitude cooking and baking but most of it means I have to experiement. . . not what I enjoy. I like making something and it turning out amasing the first time. Their advice is to first raise the temperature of the oven 25 degrees before ever tweaking the recipe.
Pie In The Sky hadn't come in the mail yet when I decided to start with the Cookies & Cream Cupcakes. I put 1 tablespoon less sugar then it called for but I totally misread the "1 Tablespoon baking powder" as "1 Teaspoon baking powder" and took the advice of taking away 1/8 of a tsp. for each tsp in the recipe. Therefore, I only put 7/8 of a TEASPOON in when the recipe called for 1 full TABLESPOON. I didn't even realize I did this until after the first cupcakes came out of the oven. They looked great and had a nice dome which made me smile! (vs. a sunken in cupcake which is what high altitude normally gives me)
I was pleased with the final product. However, they were very dense! They tasted good and weren't dry but not cupcake consistentcy. So, I will try them again and put more baking podwer in then the first time. I suppose I should take their advice and try it as it's written but up the temp. We'll see! :-)
My other issue is figuring out the best way to frost cupcakes. Some are sold in bakeries with so much frosting you wouldn't want to eat it all. I used a bag with tip and these are what I ended up with. Thoughts?
#1
#2
#3
Also, better with crumbled cookie (see first picture above) or a half cookie?
Baking is tough at this elevation and very frustrating for someone like me who LOVES to bake. I am especially into cupcakes. Dave got me a book full of cupcake recipes. So, I got myself this book:
There's a lot of advice on high altitude cooking and baking but most of it means I have to experiement. . . not what I enjoy. I like making something and it turning out amasing the first time. Their advice is to first raise the temperature of the oven 25 degrees before ever tweaking the recipe.
Pie In The Sky hadn't come in the mail yet when I decided to start with the Cookies & Cream Cupcakes. I put 1 tablespoon less sugar then it called for but I totally misread the "1 Tablespoon baking powder" as "1 Teaspoon baking powder" and took the advice of taking away 1/8 of a tsp. for each tsp in the recipe. Therefore, I only put 7/8 of a TEASPOON in when the recipe called for 1 full TABLESPOON. I didn't even realize I did this until after the first cupcakes came out of the oven. They looked great and had a nice dome which made me smile! (vs. a sunken in cupcake which is what high altitude normally gives me)
I was pleased with the final product. However, they were very dense! They tasted good and weren't dry but not cupcake consistentcy. So, I will try them again and put more baking podwer in then the first time. I suppose I should take their advice and try it as it's written but up the temp. We'll see! :-)
My other issue is figuring out the best way to frost cupcakes. Some are sold in bakeries with so much frosting you wouldn't want to eat it all. I used a bag with tip and these are what I ended up with. Thoughts?
#1
#2
#3
Also, better with crumbled cookie (see first picture above) or a half cookie?
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