Adventures in High Altitude Baking: Part II

One of the main challenges in the baking of the cupcake wedding cake (as if baking 300 cupcakes in one day wasn’t challenging enough) was the fact that we were doing it at 7,300 feet. And when all the recipes were tested at a measly 600 feet, well, I knew the altitude was going to be an issue. How big of an issue, I wasn’t sure, but I knew some adjustments would need to be made.

So as soon as we got to Colorado (after a long and tiring 20 hour drive with a carload of stuff, a cat, and my mangled laptop that we managed to run over somewhere along the way) we immediately started baking, and didn’t stop for the next week and a half.

Batch #1: I immediately cut the leavening in half. From my previous experiments, I knew this alone would make a huge difference. We also used high altitude flour for all our baking, which (as I just learned), has a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. It’s like if all-purpose flour and bread flour had a baby. For baking at high altitude, extra protein is needed as it gives more structure and strength to your cake. Weak batter will rise too quickly in the thin mountain air, and then collapse under it’s own weight. It is for this reason you want to reduce the leavening, even though it may seem counter intuitive. Less leavening causes the batter to rise more slowly, giving it time to build a structure capable of supporting itself. And that’s a good thing.

Another variable to take into consideration is the oven. We figured (since we were baking 300 cupcakes), that using the convection oven would allow us to bake more at once. So for this first batch, we had 3 rows of cupcakes. Turns out the convection oven doesn’t bake quite as evenly as you would think, and the cupcakes on the bottom row developed odd shaped bulges. Mutant cupcakes. Not pretty, even with frosting. So we scrapped that idea, adjusted the racks, and baked two rows at a time from then on.

We took good notes. Very scientific.

Second batch of almond cupcakes, looking pretty as ever. Same adjustments, just baked on two oven levels instead of three.

The lemon cupcakes went so smoothly we only had to bake 6 of them. We made the exact same adjustments here, cutting the leavening (baking powder and baking soda) in half and using high altitude flour.

When we got to the Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes, however, it was a completely different story. Our first batch didn’t rise enough. Our second batch rose too quickly and then sunk. But the third batch, well, the third batch turned out just right.

Contrary to this image, they actually rose nicely. These pretty green cupcake cups are significantly taller than the white ones. Pay attention to the beautiful domes on these, and just ignore the cracks (there’s always something about this recipe…) This batch was the clear winner, so we recorded the adjustments and moved on with other wedding endeavors. Funny thing is, we made the same exact adjustments on the actual wedding cupcakes, and they came out more like the previous two batches. Sink, sank, sunk. Maybe it was just a fluke, and this batch got lucky. Good thing for us that slightly sunken cupcakes can easily be disguised by more frosting. No one even noticed. Sneaky sneaky.

The final (albeit probably arbitrary) adjustments we made for the Hot Chocolate Cupcakes included cutting the leavening in half, adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar, adding 1 tablespoon of flour, and subtracting 1 tablespoon of sugar. Whether it actually did anything or not I can’t say. But they sure tasted good.

Conclusion? Cupcakes are probably a pretty safe bet for high altitude baking, for the simple reason I mentioned above: sunken cupcakes mean more frosting, and that’s never a bad thing.

So if you are one of the lucky few to live with your head in the clouds and looking for some fail-safe high altitude baking tricks, I don’t have them for you. But, I’d suggest first simply cutting the leavening in your recipes (for us, at 7,300 feet, half seemed to do the trick, but you should adjust accordingly depending on just how high you are). You might get lucky. If that doesn’t work, well, make some extra frosting, and no one will ever know the difference.

And, in case you were wondering, I’ve got myself a pretty new laptop, you know, to replace the one we RAN OVER WITH OUR CAR. Oy.

Home Sweet Home.

After 3 weeks on the road and at my parents’ in Colorado, we’re finally home.

The wedding was unbelievable. The weather, the flowers, the cupcakes… I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. And speaking of cupcakes, I have lots to share – tidbits about baking at high altitudes, baking 300 cupcakes in one day, building your own cupcake stand, and that will all be posted in the coming weeks. But let’s just say our 4th of July is going to be spent doing things other than setting off fireworks. Amazing how big your to-do list gets when you take off for 3 weeks.

I’ll be back in a few days with Adventures in High Altitude Baking, part two… but for now, I’ll leave you with this little teaser, the final product of our high altitude cupcake marathon. I probably don’t have to tell you they were a huge hit.

photo by kern-photo.com

Tuscan Tuna and Bean Sandwiches.

Look familiar? Well, it didn’t to me. This has never happened before. We made a recipe we thought was new, and as I was getting ready to post it, I realized we had posted it before. Before meaning way back in ’07 when I thought the closer I could get to the food the better (you rarely see the entire plate in those photos). But yea. We actually made something twice without realizing it. I could have moved on and posted one of the other recipes I have queued in my photo library, but for some reason I felt I had to post this picture. If a sandwich could ever be described as pretty, this just might be the one. Or maybe it’s not the sandwich itself but the beautiful blurry background colors – rich brown and turquoise blue. That could be it too. I can never have enough of brown and turquoise.

Revisiting things is nice too. You know, since I know not all of you have been reading this blog since ’07, nor do you have the time to travel back that deep in the archives (or maybe you do? if so, well done!) With that in mind, I may have to dredge up a few old favorites in need of a better photo (sorry, but some of my initial shots just don’t do the poor recipe justice!) and repost them for all to enjoy, again.

And no, I didn’t plan on two sandwich posts back to back either. Give me a break, or I just might have to make another sandwich and go for three in a row. So there. I like sandwiches. You should too.

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Tuscan Tuna and Bean Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from epicurious.

Ingredients:

For beans
1 (14- to 15-oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For tuna salad
2 (6-oz) cans Italian tuna in oil, drained
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

For sandwiches
8 (1/3-inch-thick) slices rustic Italian bread (from a round crusty loaf) or 4 (4-inch-long) oval panini rolls
1 cup loosely packed trimmed watercress sprigs

Directions:

Coarsely mash beans with a fork in a bowl, then stir in garlic, lemon juice, oil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Flake tuna in a bowl with a fork, then stir in basil, olives, celery, onion, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until combined.

Spoon one fourth of bean mixture on 1 slice of bread, then top with one fourth of tuna salad, some watercress, and a slice of bread. Make 3 more sandwiches in same manner.

Prosciutto, Pear, and Goat Cheese Panini

We ate lunch at a local coffee and sandwich shop a few weeks back, and ordered one of their paninis. It was filled with goat cheese (my favorite), and slices of fresh pear and prosciutto. Delicious. And we thought, hey, we have a panini maker we haven’t used in maybe 8 months, why not dig it out and try our hand at making these ourselves?

So we did.

And it was good.

We had some gorgonzola cheese leftover in the fridge as well, so we ended up making one sandwich with goat cheese and another with gorgonzola. I prefer the goat cheese, myself. While the gorgonzola had a wonderful flavor that went really well with the other ingredients, it almost overpowered them it was so strong. So if you make these with gorgonzola, take it easy on the cheese.

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Prosciutto, Pear, and Goat Cheese Panini

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

4 slices country style bread, sliced
3 oz. prosciutto
1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
4 oz. goat cheese, room temperature (or Gorgonzola if you like)
2 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

Prepare panini maker or grill pan.

To assemble sandwiches, spread a thin layer of goat cheese on bread slices. Top with single layer of prosciutto, followed by a layer of pear. Top with another slice of bread. Lightly brush top with olive oil.

Place oil side down on panini press and brush other side with olive oil. Close the lid and cook according until indicator light says it's done. Alternatively, if you do not have a panini press, you can use a grill pan and place a weighted object on top of the sandwich (like a brick wrapped in foil). Flip sandwiches mid-way and grill on other side. Sandwiches are done when bread is crisp with golden grill lines, and cheese is warm and melted.

Slice in half and enjoy!