The Science of High Elevation Baking, or Why Does My Grandmother’s Famous Cake Recipe Always Fall When I Make It?

As the temperatures drop and the days grow shorter, there’s no better time to turn on the oven and fill your home with the smell of something sweet baking. The holidays are just around the corner and as we enter peak baking season, it’s the perfect time to pull out those treasured family recipes or try something new.

If you’ve lived here all your life, your old recipes probably turn out just right. But if that new online dessert doesn’t look quite like the photo, or your grandmother’s cake recipe you remember so fondly suddenly falls flat, there’s a reason. Baking in the mountains is different.

Most of Yavapai County sits at over 3,000 feet, considered high elevation. Our elevations range from about 1,900 feet to nearly 8,000, with the most populated areas above 3,000 feet: around 3,000 in Camp Verde, nearly 5,500 in Jerome, and over 5,000 in Prescott and Prescott Valley. Once you’re at higher elevations, recipes that used work well at lower elevations often don’t turn out the same. Cakes may fall, cookies may spread, and baked goods can become dry or crumbly. These undesired results stem from reduced atmospheric pressure at higher elevations. As a result, water boils at lower temperatures and gases expand more and faster. For example, leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder, or gases released from liquids) can cause batter to rise too quickly. For example, a cake may expand before its structure sets, then collapse as it cools. One possible recipe adjustment for this problem would be to increase the baking temperature slightly and reduce the baking time.

Lower boiling points also cause increased evaporation or moisture loss during baking, which can make goods dry. To prevent this, add a bit more liquid (milk or water) and slightly increase the flour to maintain structure. Additionally, as liquids evaporate more quickly, sugars and fats become more concentrated, weakening structure and making cookies spread thin. Reducing sugar or fat can help maintain structure and texture.

Unfortunately, there’s no single fix for adjusting recipes for higher elevations. Many factors are at play. When adapting for high elevation, change only one thing at a time so you can tell what works. It may take several tries to perfect the recipe. Keep track of your adjustments so you’ll know what worked next time. Eventually, your grandmother’s cake will turn out just as you remember and you can share the delicious memories up here in Yavapai County.

Hope Wilson is the Family, Consumer and Health Sciences Associate Agent for Yavapai County Cooperative Extension where she is responsible for community education programs related to nutrition and wellness; food safety and food preservation; and early childhood health and safety.