High Altitude Baking

Being the ever generous soul that I am, I thought I would share with you a few things I have learned along the way. First, I have lived all over the world, being a military spouse and all, but for the last 6 years I have lived in different variations of high altitude regions. I have learned the hard way many times that no matter what boxes and recipes say, you have to find your own combination of ingredients that work well for your specific altitude. I am currently in Colorado Springs which is over 5,000 ft and therefore I have had many cake disasters while learning the ropes. My saving grace after moving here was finding a conversion chart that gives you guidelines based on altitude for altering ANY recipe. You have to play around a bit to see what works for you but here is a link that will help you out with that. Remember not all recipes need to be altered. Make it once the standard way and if it falls try to alter ingredients the next time. I usually start with the baking powder and baking soda.  http://www.thecookinginn.com/haltitude.html

Another thing I learned when I first started is that if you are going to used a boxed cake mix, the high altitude recipe directions on there are useless. I was given an insight by a fabulous baker friend and mentor. She told me that for almost any box mix, if you use this formula, you will have perfect moist cake every time.

1. Never use a mix with pudding in it. It is dense and will make your cake fall.
2. Never over beat the eggs because it adds air to the mix and....will make your cake fall.
DO:
1. use 1 box of mix
2. use 3 eggs (or appropriate egg whites listed on white cake boxes)
3. use just over 1 cup of water. I mean BARELY just over so kind of hovering above the 1 cup line.
4. use 2/3 cup of oil
5. add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour. You can gauge when you have enough if your batter is not watery but also not a cookie dough consistency.
6. I have also found adding buttermilk in replacement of the water can create a moister and more dense cake instead of a crumbly one.
7. Always bake at 10 to 15 degrees higher than suggested. This allows for the faster cooking time will keep the recipe from rising too much

These directions can be doubled, tripled, etc. Just get the cake into the oven as soon as you can after you have made the batter and you should have no more altitude baking issues. Happy Baking!!!

Pricing and Info

Pricing and Info:

Wedding Cakes: pricing starts at $3.50 a serving and can go up based on design.

Cupcakes:

Traditional sized: Start at $1.50 per cupcake and if filling is chosen can go up to $2.50 based on ingredients.

Jumbo Sized: These are very large gourmet style cupcakes. These start at $2.50 per cupcake and can go up to $3.50 based on fillings and ingredients.

Cakes: start at $3.00 per serving. Below is a chart that gives you a basic idea of sizes and servings. I can also create square cakes. Carved cake pricing will be based on servings and complexity. There is no standard pricing for these cakes.

Specialty Desserts: Pecan pie $25, All other pies $20, Cheesecakes $30 (including sicilian cheesecake made from Ricotta Cheese), Cannolis $2.50 ea etc. If you would like something not listed please let me know. I will do custom orders.

Cookies and Cake Pops:

Jumbo Cookies: $25 a Dozen. These cookies can be made into cookie baskets and are typically about 4-5" across. Flavors include but are not limited to Chocolate chip, Double chocolate chip, Snickerdoodle, Peanut butter, Monster (combo of peanut butter, oatmeal and M&M), Oatmeal, Oatmeal Rasin, M&M, White Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Cherry Chunk, etc.

Cake Pops. $2.50 each. Heavily decorated and shaped cake pops pricing varies by design. My cake pops are made from my regular scratch recipies and combined with my fresh buttercreams. These are then coated in premium chocolate or white chocolate. These can be tailored by color, design and theme to meet the needs of your party or event.

Please allow 5 days prior notice minimum when placing an order. Rush orders can be done based on availability and complexity. A $15 rush charge will apply to all orders not placed 5 days prior to delivery date.

If you would like to place and order and are in the Colorado area please contact me at 719-761-0917 or forcakessake5@hotmail.com

Flavors and Fillings

There have been many requests for a list of the flavors and fillings I offer for cake orders. I am able to do pretty much any flavor or filling you can come up with but here are some common requests, interesting combinations and a few of my own creations to choose from. If you are in the Colorado area and would like to place an order, please feel free to Contact me for more info at 719-761-0917 or email me at forcakessake5@hotmail.com. Thanks and enjoy!!!

Recommended Flavor Combinations:

Dark Chocolate cake with fresh raspberry butter cream, Lemon Cake, creamy lemon filling and lemon cream cheese butter cream, Dark Chocolate cake with peanut butter cup filling and peanut butter butter cream (Reeses cup), Hummingbird cake with cream cheese butter cream, White cake with fresh strawberry filling and strawberry butter cream. Yellow butter cake spiced with cinnamon and filled with cannoli cream. Champagne Cake with Champagne butter cream.**Most Unique Chocolate chip cake with Maple bacon butter cream.

Cake Flavors:

Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Hummingbird (contains pineapple, banana and crushed walnuts), Yellow butter, White, Red Velvet, Cinnamon spiced butter, Lemon, Almond, Hazelnut, Marble, Tie Dye (any color combo you would like), Carrot, Champagne, Banana, Italian Wedding, Espresso, Tiramisu, Coconut, Mint Chocolate, Carmel,Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate, and many many more

Butter Cream:

Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Cream Cheese, Carmel, White Chocolate, Espresso, Bailey's, Chamboard, Maple, Coconut and many many more!

Fillings:

Candy Bar (Snickers, Reeses, M&M, Milky Way, Heath, etc), Cannoli Cream (with or without mini chocolate chips), Fresh Banana, Lemon, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Orange, Cheesecake, Ganache (white, milk or dark cchocolate), Peach, Cookies and Cream...and as always...many many more!

All Cakes are available to be covered in either Buttercream or Fondant. My fondant is all made fresh to each order and is made from marshmallows. I do this because not only do I want you to have to freshest, tastiest cake possible....It is also easier to work with, does not dry and crack as frequently and has a much spongier texture.

When placing your order please feel free to use your imagination. The sky is the limit!