Recipe: High Altitude Pound Cake

Leavening gases in cakes expand more at high altitude.Most cake recipes are perfected for sea level. Above 3000 feet, decreased atmospheric pressure may result in excessive rising, which stretches the cell structure of the cake, making the texture coarse or breaks the cells, causing the cake to fall. This usually is corrected by decreasing the amount of leavening agent. Also, increasing the baking temperature by 15-25 degrees "sets" the batter before the cells formed by the leavening gas expand too much. Excessive evaporation of water at high altitude leads to high concentration of sugar, which weakens the cell structure. Therefore decrease sugar and increase the liquid. This will depend what your altitude is. For 5000 ft. reduce baking powder 1/8 - 1/4 tsp, reduce sugar 0-2 tbsp and increase sugar 2-4 tbsp


This recipe is already adjusted for high altitude.
High Altitude Pound Cake
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and blend. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly each time. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Pour batter into 2 well-greased 1 pound loaf pans. Bake in preheated oven, 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done. Yields: 2 (1 lb) cakes