The Ultimate High Altitude Cupcake Recipe

The ONE thing I don't love about living in the mountains is the frequent baking failures. My house is at 6000 feet above sea level, and I've seen about 7 or 8 spectacular baking failures as a result. The thinner air provides less support for the cake as it rises, leading to very sick-looking cupcakes.

Secret: I've been using boxed mixes as a foolproof base for some of my cupcakes. I jazz them up with some pudding, or sour cream, or buttermilk, but I still feel guilty about using anything from a box.

But TODAY! Today, I found a from-scratch ALTITUDE-PROOF vanilla cupcake recipe! It rises beautifully, cooks for the right amount of time, tastes yummy and fluffy. I'm sure it would work at sea level, too... But you guys could make any cupcake from any recipe so whatever.

I topped it with some spiced honey buttercream, a delicate flavor for the more mature cupcake consumer.

Altitude-Proof Vanilla Cupcake

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.

Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and fill about 2/3 with cupcake batter. Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes spring back when touched.

Spiced Honey Buttercream

Frosts 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Milk, if needed

Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, and beat until smooth. Add honey, vanilla and cinnamon, adjusting to taste. If too thick, add milk one tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.