Taking up on another cooking challenge: our middle daughter’s Valentine’s birthday… and nothing could go better than… cupcakes! ♥
Scrumptious, rich, yellow cake, strawberry and vanilla-based, topped with chocolate frosting or a simple butter cream…
Both my oldest kids (7 and 5) had a blast ‘helping me’ decorate the mini cakes! They came up with interesting choices for toppings – scroll down to check the pics out! I guess, at the end, it all worked well…
That said, for this Friday, I’m getting back into baking. High altitude [and attitude!] baking.
Moving on to the preparations. Simply followed regular yellow cake and vanilla recipes [oh, you, Martha Stewart!], as well as, a simple lemon pound cake recipe, and a fantastic recipe for strawberry cupcakes, from Yummy Cakes from Lynn, discovering [through extensive online research] a few tips/adjustments for baking at high altitudes.
La Paz, Bolivia, can be a great example of how frustrating it might be for a rookie baker! In order to remain in good terms with my kitchen oven, my ‘overactive kids assistants and I’ decided to go for a ‘new & improved first-timer’ cake (batter) step-by-step: 😮
Flour: Increased by 2 Tbs per cup of batter
Baking Powder/Soda: Decreased by 1/4 tsp per tsp of mix
Sugar: Decreased by 2 Tbs per cup of mix [we’re always advised to go light on the sugar here, it’s healthier and better for the body’s blood pressure…]
Milk: Increased by 2 Tbs per cup of mix
Extra egg: added one more to the usual 3
Oven Temperature: Increased by 25 degrees
Baking Time: Decreased by five minutes per 30 minutes of baking time.
It looks like a lot of math, right? Adding this, subtracting that…. raising the oven temperature, decreasing the baking time… But it all makes sense – you’re looking for a less ‘runny’ cake mix/batter, and with hotter oven, it’s logical (!!) to leave your ‘lovies’ in there for less time. At the end, it’s all about a great deal of TLC! ♥
Curious about the results?
Take a look, and let me know how you think this Valentine’s Birthday Bash went with another batch of the ‘highest cupcakes I’ve ever baked’! 😮
In the mood for still more? Take a look at these unique recipes for high altitude baking: from my kitchen to yours! ♥
Cupcakes filled with ‘dulce de leche’ (very popular in Latinamerica, similar to caramel)
Below, strawberry cupcakes, filled with fruit (jam) and topped with ‘bubble gum’ frosting [just came up with this recipe today… let me know if you’re curious about it!]
cupcakes topped with caramel
- How to…Bake the Perfect Cupcake! (thepartypost.co.uk)
3rdculturechildren 
No doubt some readers are bitterly disappointed to find you mean cooking at altitude, and not some banned hallucinogenic additive! 🙂
LikeLike
Simply funny… tonight, we’re part of a ‘progressive dinner’, and we’re hosting dessert… just made three different treats, each one, with a distinct type of alcohol… let’s see how it goes!!! 😮
LikeLike
Good luck with those!
LikeLike
Already done! One with brandy, one with rum and one with Kahlua… 😮
LikeLike
They’ll be getting high on those, for sure!
LikeLike
I’m sure! 😮 Dulce de leche [caramel dessert], chocolate mousse, and fresh fruit (with raisins dipped in run)…
LikeLike
I liked the variety of colours, looks very tasty and nice !!!!!!!
Saludos.
LikeLike
Thank you, Gustavo! 😮
LikeLike
They looks gorgeous, but I would rather just look, as I age I prefer s bit less sweetness 🙂
LikeLike
Funny! Thanks, Gilly! 😮
LikeLike
Yummy……..
Thanks.
Jose
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed it, Jose! 😮
LikeLike
They are sensational! Well done you (and the assistants). Hope you all had a really good time.
LikeLike
And by assistants, we’re talking about a 7 yr old and a barely 5 yr old! We all had a great time… Thank you! 😮
LikeLike