An area with an altitude over 3500 feet is considered high altitude. This is where there is less air pressure and less humidity, and these two factors create havoc for cake bakers. The reduction in air pressure causes less resistance to the leavening action in the batter. Thus, cake batter may overflow from the pan, the cake may bake right out of the pan, or it may fall flat.

In high-altitude baking, you don’t want as tender a cake because it will over-rise, so be wary of cakes with a lot of added sugar and oil. Often a little flour is added to a recipe to make it heavier. The oven temperature should be increased so that the batter sets up more quickly and doesn’t overflow.

Layer cakes should be baked in 9” pans, NEVER 8” pans or they would overflow. And absolutely DO NOT BAKE CAKES THAT HAVE MARSHMALLOWS ADDED TO THE MIX! They’ll blow up from the high sugar content. Finally, grease the pans well because high-altitude cakes are more likely to stick.