High Altitude Friendly Chocolate Cake – A rich, moist chocolate cake that won’t sink at high altitudes and still bakes beautifully at low altitudes.
When I first moved to Utah nearly 10 years ago, the chocolate cake recipe I loved would sink as it baked. After several failed attempts, I knew it was time to do some research and rework the recipe.
Reasons Cakes Sink at High Altitude
Baking at high altitudes can cause significant issues in baked goods, particularly cakes, due to the lower air pressure. At higher elevations, the reduced pressure allows liquids to evaporate more quickly, which can dry out the batter. Additionally, the leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda can act more aggressively, causing cakes to rise too quickly and then collapse before they have a chance to set properly.
This rapid rise can lead to dense, sunken cakes with an uneven texture. The faster evaporation also means that sugar may become more concentrated, affecting the cake’s structure and sweetness. To combat these challenges, adjustments in ingredient ratios, oven temperatures, and baking times are often necessary when baking at altitude.
Key Ingredients for Success
Before diving into the recipe, it’s important to note some of the key ingredients that make this cake stand out:
- Cocoa Powder: Courtney uses high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, which is essential for achieving that rich chocolate flavor. She recommends using a Dutch-processed cocoa for a smoother, more intense taste.
- Buttermilk: This not only adds moisture but also brings a slight tang to balance the sweetness of the cake. Buttermilk helps create a tender crumb, making the cake incredibly soft.
- Hot Water (or Coffee): Adding hot water or brewed coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor and helps dissolve the cocoa, resulting in a cake that’s extra rich.
- Oil: Instead of butter, this recipe uses oil, which keeps the cake moist for longer periods without drying out—perfect for a cake you want to bake in advance or serve over a couple of days.
How to Make High Altitude Friendly Chocolate Cake
Step 1: Prep Your Oven and Pans
Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C) and grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. This step is crucial for ensuring the cakes release easily and bake evenly.
Step 2: Sift the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sifting ensures there are no lumps in your batter, which is especially important with cocoa powder.
Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until everything is fully combined and smooth.
Step 4: Combine the Dry and Wet Ingredients
With your mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Once combined, slowly pour in the hot water (or coffee) while continuing to mix. The batter will be thin, but don’t worry—that’s exactly what you want for a light, moist cake.
Step 5: Divide and Bake
Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake, as that can dry out your cake.
Step 6: Cool and Frost
Once baked, let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out onto wire racks to cool completely. Frost only when the cakes are fully cooled.
Tips for Success
- Don’t Rush the Cooling Process: Ensure your cakes are completely cool before frosting. Even a slightly warm cake can cause the buttercream to melt.
- Use High-Quality Cocoa: The quality of the cocoa powder significantly impacts the flavor, so opt for a good Dutch-processed cocoa to get the best results. I love Extra Brute Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder.
- Use room temperature ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients will help your cakes rise better because the dry ingredients are better able to absorb the wet ingredients.
My High Altitude Friendly Chocolate Cake is easy to make, yields impressive results, and delivers the kind of rich, chocolatey flavor you’ll want to return to again and again. Whether it’s for a special occasion or just because you’re in the mood for cake, this recipe will become a go-to in your baking repertoire.
Give it a try and enjoy the satisfaction of making a homemade cake that looks and tastes just as good—if not better—than anything you’d find in a bakery! Happy baking!
Buttercream Recipe: https://cakebycourtney.com/chocolate-buttercream/
High Altitude Friendly Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups (88.5 g) good quality dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (236 g) hot water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. (You can also use four 6-inch pans). Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, then spray the pans again.
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 15 to 16 ounces in each) and bake for 22 to 25 minutes.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. You’re still going to want to level your cake layers to ensure a completely even surface for frosting and stacking.
Made these as cupcakes today even though she said they wouldn’t work (because I love this recipe for cake so much I had to try it) and they turned out great! Made roughly 28. Make sure not to fill them a drop past 2/3 though, err on just more than 1/2 full and they were perfect. Baked for 19 minutes. (Utah’s elevation)
I also made cupcakes here in colorado (altitude 6000). I sifted all the dry ingredients and then hand mixed with a spatula versus electric mixer. Put only 1/2 in the cupcake pan and cooked for 15 mins. They came out wonderfully!
I live at 5300 ft elevation and needed a chocolate cake recipe for a birthday cake. I made this and it was perfect! Thank you.
Love that!!
Thank you, thank you for this recipe! I’ve lived in Colorado for the past 10 years and hadn’t found a recipe for chocolate cake that didn’t sink until now. I’m over 5000 feet and made a further couple adjustments. Added 2 more T flour, reduced sugar by 2 T and reduced leavening by about 25%. My cake rose beautifully, domed just slightly and didn’t sink at all. I’m forever grateful! 😁
This makes me so happy! That dang altitude can be so hard to figure out!
Hi Courtney, hope you are doing well. I love your recipes. I wanted to make this cake but eggless. Doesn’t need to be dairy free. What can I substitute for eggs. Please advise 🙂
Flax egg
You are a lifesaver!! I’ve been having terrible cake luck lately (I live in Colorado, at about 6000 ft) and all of my cakes have been sunken and sad. I tried a bunch of different things (brand new leavening agents, not overmixing, adjusting sugar amounts, etc) and nothing was working. But I just made this recipe and it’s perfect! A beautiful fluffy cake with no sunken middle. Thank you! I’m excited to try other recipes of yours. 😊
YAY!!
Hello Courtney,
I promised my young grand daughter a rich chocolate cake so I made this today. I live at elevation 8500. I will let you know what everyone says. My grand daughter said she loves it so much that she could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thank you so much.
I live in Utah and used this recipe and all of my cakes fell in the middle 😬😢 not sure what I did wrong!
My husband bought low-fat buttermilk. I do have a half cup of heavy whipping cream, though. Do you think I can combine those to end up with a mixture pretty close to full fat buttermilk?
Thanks!
Hannah
You’re totally ok to use the lowfat! No need to do half and half with the cream. xo
Have you ever made this as a 1/2 sheet cake? This is my daughter’s absolute favorite cake recipe and she’s requesting it for her 13th birthday party. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Like does one recipe = enough batter for a 13×18 pan?
I would 1.5 the recipe for slightly thicker cake layer and it should work well.
Made this cake several times at 9000 ft, works every time. Great tasing cake, my favorite chocolate cake.
A baker’s son, i tend to use half soft flour and half all purpose for a lighter texture. Use best ingredients, dutch process cocoa, organic ingredients, you will love it!
Thank you!
Richard
Excellent the only chocolate cake I make now living in Colorado
Love it.
We have maybe made this recipe 20+ times. Originally used this recipe at 7100’ – We currently live at 4600’ and works great for both desert SW locations.
suggestions:
– try different cocoa brands. We love Rodelle’s, Guitards, etc.
– we bake in 2 each 10 in round cake pans. Increases bake times to around 50 minutes. Check often with knife blade
– rarely use butter milk. Home make with T of white vinegar.
– tried with cup 4 cup gluten free flour and worked fine.
– try adding 1/4 cup fresh ground coffee
I live in the Boulder area. I made the recipe for the chocolate cake. After 18 minutes, 2 of the layers are still not completely baked. Is this an oven problem? I’ve switched the position of the pans and setting for 3 more minutes. Has anyone lese had this problem?
Thanks! Smells delicious!
Bake times may vary depending on your oven. Adding 3 minutes and maybe another 3 is perfect.
Loved this! We live in Utah and have been on the hunt for a good high altitude chocolate cake recipe that has ingredients we already have in the pantry. All other ones I’ve come across require something like sour cream or Greek yogurt, which we never have on hand. Tried this last night and it came out AMAZING. The only things I adjusted were replacing plain hot water with strongly brewed coffee, and I used a 13×9 pan since we don’t have rounds. Just baked it for an extra 10 minutes to make sure the middle was done and it came out perfect! Thank you for this!
Yay I’m so glad! I made it with Utah elevation in mind!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe, it is my go-to recipe and pairs so amazingly with a swiss buttercream!! I want to try to make cupcakes instead of a cake, any recommendations or changes to the recipe to do so? Thanks so much for posting this delicious recipe!!
Hi,
I am wondering, what altitude do you live at? I am at 6600 feet. Do you think this will work for me?
I’m at 5000 feet, so I think it will but you can also reduce sugar by 3 tablespoons and add 3 tablespoons of flour to ensure it rises well.
Can I use a Bundt pan?
Yes!
Just tried this recipe for the first time and I seem to have trouble with consistency. The batter is very liquid and it starts to leak from the bottom of my round cake pans (masterclass). Anyone else having this problem? And how can I make sure this doesn’t happen the next time?
Thanks in advance for replying 🙂
I usually don’t leave reviews, but felt the need to leave one here:
I have made this chocolate cake 2 times as a sheet cake, and it comes out wonderful every time at high altitude!!!! It comes out moist and a rich, chocolatey cake. I worry about making cakes and cookies at high altitude because the texture is usually nothing like at sea level, but this recipe is impressive.
Thank you so much!!
Can you reshare the recipe? I don’t see it on this page anymore :/
It’s there now 🙂
Where did the recipe go???
It’s there now 🙂