High Altitude Vanilla Cupcakes
This recipe for high altitude vanilla cupcakes is perfect for baking at altitudes of 5,000 feet. The recipe makes picture-perfect vanilla cupcakes with a moist, vanilla cupcake base. Then, the recipe tops the cupcakes with a simple but tasty vanilla buttercream frosting! The best part? The recipe produces a smaller batch of cupcakes. Just 10 total! And it uses only 1 stick of butter to make both the cupcake batter AND frosting.
I adapted the recipe from the cookbook of one of my favorite bakeries, The Hummingbird Bakery, in London.
What is high altitude baking?
You may be surprised to learn that baking recipes work differently at high altitudes. Why?
Air pressure is less intense at altitudes of 3,000 feet and greater. That means that leaveners like baking powder, baking soda, and yeast don’t have as much gravity to work against. As a result, these ingredients typically need to be reduced.
Similarly, water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes. Because atmospheric pressure is lower, it takes less energy to boil water. People usually need to adjust the temperatures and the cook times of baking recipes at high altitude.
What is considered high altitude for baking?
High altitude is generally considered 3,500 feet and more. In the United States, these cities are considered high altitude:
- Roswell, New Mexico (3,573 feet)
- Amarillo, Texas (3,505 feet)
- Bend, Oregon (3,623 feet)
- Las Cruces, New Mexico (3,900 feet)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (4,226 feet)
- Sedona, Arizona (4,350 feet)
- Reno, Nevada (4,506 feet)
- Fort Collins, Colorado (5,003 feet)
- Denver, Colorado (5,280 feet)
- Albuquerque, New Mexico (5,312 feet)
Curious if your city is “high altitude”? Check out this list! The list contains all the cities and towns in the United States with elevations between 3,000 and 11,000 feet.
How To Adjust for High Altitude Baking
Most baking recipes online and in cookbook were developed at sea level. That means that, if you live somewhere high altitude, you need to adjust recipes to work accordingly.
Unfortunately, there is no magic shortcut or formula to translate baking recipes to work at high altitudes. You need to look at each one on a case by case basis. It’s a lot of work!
Luckily, I’ve started to do some of that work for you on this blog. Like this recipe! I developed this high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe when I was living in Denver, Colorado.
Why You Should Make This High Altitude Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Here are all the reasons to make this high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe:
I adapted this high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe from famed London cupcake bakery, The Hummingbird Bakery.
The Hummingbird Bakery popularized American-style cupcakes in London, England. Their cupcakes are simple and delicious, with classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, red velvet and more. I love their cookbook because most of the recipes yield small batches of 10 to 12 cupcakes. The recipes also rely on basic pantry ingredients, many of which a frequent baker will already have at home.
These cupcakes are no exception! The Hummingbird Bakery’s recipe for vanilla cupcakes is the dictionary definition of a vanilla cupcake. Think: a moist, fluffy vanilla cake base topped with a sweet and simple vanilla buttercream frosting. Of course, don’t forget the sprinkles!
I tested this high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe obesessively to work at high altitudes.
I lived in Denver, Colorado, for 6 months in 2012. Prior to then, I’d only lived in coastal cities like San Francisco and, Portland, Oregon.
The first time I made The Hummingbird Bakery’s vanilla cupcake recipe in Denver, I received an unpleasant shock. Instead of baking up into beautiful, fluffy cakes, the cupcakes baked into sticky puddles of goop.
That experience led me to research high altitude baking. I learned everything I shared with you above. And I became determined to adapt my favorite recipes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook to work at high altitude.
Starting with these cupcakes! I tested the recipe for these cupcakes 8 times. Each time, I made a different adjustment to adjust for high altitude. I altered different levels of ingredients, and adjusted the bake times and temperatures accordingly. So rest assured that I did all the hard work adapting this recipe for high altitude so YOU don’t have to!
This high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe comes together quickly.
The best part? This cupcake recipe comes together really quickly! The batter takes just 10 minutes to make. The frosting takes even less than that—just 5 minutes! The Hummingbird Bakery is also known for frosting their cupcakes simply, with just a signature swirl on each cupcake. As a result, decorating the cupcakes just takes 10 minutes.
This high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe uses basic pantry ingredients.
If you’re a frequent baker, it’s likely that you already have everything you need to make these high altitude vanilla cupcakes! No special ingredients are needed here, folks: just flour, sugar, eggs, and butter.
However, my favorite part about this recipe is this: it uses just ONE stick of butter for both the cupcake batter and frosting! The cupcake batter needs 3 Tablespoons of butter, while the frosting needs 5 Tablespoons. Together, that’s 8 Tablespoons of butter… the exact amount in 1 stick of butter! Cool, right?
High Altitude Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Ingredients
Now that I’ve convinced you to make this high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe, here’s your shopping list:
Shopping List for High Altitude Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- unsalted butter
- whole milk
- large eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- confectioners’ sugar
- sprinkles
More High Altitude Baking Recipes
- Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes Recipe
- Lavender Cupcakes Recipe
- Lemon Cupcakes Recipe
- Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Get the Recipe: High Altitude Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cupcake Batter
- 1 cup (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (5.25 ounces or 149 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of kosher salt
- 3 Tablespoons (1.5 ounces or 43 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups (8 ounces or 227 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 5 Tablespoons (2.5 ounces or 71 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 2 drops pure vanilla extract
- sprinkles, for garnish
Instructions
For the High Altitude Vanilla Cupcakes
- First, make the cupcakes. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners
- Mix the dry ingredients and butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter. Beat on medium-low until the mixture, has the texture of coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter throughout, about 3 minutes.
- Add half the milk. Add half the milk all at once and increase the mixer to medium. Beat until the batter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Mix the egg, vanilla, and remaining milk. While the batter is mixing, whisk together the egg, vanilla, and remaining milk in a liquid measuring cup. Reduce the mixer to low and add this mixture in two or three additions, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition, then beat until just combined.
- Fill the pan. Use a cookie dough scoop to fill each paper liner two-thirds of the way full with batter.
- Bake the cupcakes. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top of a cupcake bounces back when gently pressed. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool the cupcakes completely in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
- Next, make the frosting. Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the confectioners' sugar and butter together on medium-low until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the milk and vanilla all at once and beat on low just to incorporate the liquid. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, then beat on medium-high until the frosting is creamy and smooth, 5 minutes.
- Assemble the cupcakes. Use a 1-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to spoon 1 Tablespoon of frosting per cupcake. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting across the top of the cupcakes. Garnish immediately with sprinkles.
- Serve and store. Serve at room temperature. The cupcakes will keep, in an airtight container or underneath a cake dome, at room temperature 1 day. After that, transfer to the refrigerator and refrigerate for up to 2 more days.
Notes
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- All spoon measurements are level and unsifted, unless otherwise specified. To level the ingredients, take the back of a knife and run it across the top of the measuring cup until the excess ingredients are scraped off.
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- Liquid and dry measuring cups are different; please make sure you use the appropriate measuring cup for each ingredient.
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- When creaming butter and sugar together, always make sure you keep creaming until the mixture is light and fluffy (this will usually take around 5 minutes). This helps the cupcakes rise nicely in the oven.
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- After adding flour to the mixture, don’t overbeat as this will overwork the flour and make the cake dense — simply beat or stir until the flour is just incorporated. In my opinion, making sure you don’t overbeat the batter is one of the hardest parts about baking.
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- Don’t open your oven until at least the minimum time recommended has passed. Too much cold air coming from a frequently opened oven door causes irregular oven temperatures that affect the baking process.
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- Specifically for the vanilla buttercream frosting: the longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.
- Add your extra decorations (e.g., sprinkles, nonpareils) immediately after you have frosted the cupcake; if you wait to decorate the cupcake, the frosting will harden and the decorations will not stay on the cake.
Thank you. I hate baking here. I've mastered the cookie but my cupcakes are terrible. Google led me to you this morning. Thank you Google. Thank you random amateur baker. My son and I will be trying out your vanilla cupcake recipe this afternoon.
Hahha, yes, I feel your pain! Please let me know how this recipe works out for you!
Victory!
Thank you so much for your hard work on this. I tried the original recipe last night (Joy the Baker had it on her site), and it failed just as spectacularly as yours initially did (I live in Denver too). Google–but mostly you–saved my bacon. I will definitely be trying your other recipes. I'm very impressed with your research and tenacity. I use Pie in the Sky as my bible too, by the way. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for your kind comments! I love Joy the Baker, but I'm too scared to cook any of her recipes up in Denver because of how the altitude might effect them. Oh well.
I'm glad these adjustments worked out for you!
Beautiful!! I finally made a pretty cupcake living at 7,000 feet :). I made a few adjustments: I used 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon cake flour, substituted butter milk for whole milk (just because I didn't have any), and I used 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Thank you for the great recipe! 🙂
Great! I'm glad it worked out for you!
I grew up 17feet above sea level… so moving to the western Black Hills in Wyoming (4700feet) has made baking a new (not always enjoyable) adventure since all of my baking recipes need to be adjusted or we have to put up with sub-par baked goods…. and I'm too picky for that to happen! I came across this recipe/post through a simple google search and I want to thank you for helping us high altitude bakers so much 🙂 I haven't even frosted these yet and the house smells delish as they cool on the rack! I did have a question, I wanted to double this recipe if it worked (which it does!) so should I just straight across double everything or do you have another way/tweak I should do that?
Thank you so much,
Renee from Sundance Wyoming 🙂
Hi there,
I think just doubling everything should do the trick. I've never tried it myself, so give it a shot and let me know how it works out!
Okay, I'll try it out this weekend. I'm making my second batch now. Everyone I shared a cupcake with LOVES them! I can't wait to try to double them for Easter 🙂 And trying out some of your other recipes!
Doubling came out PERFECT! YAY! Thank you again!!!
Sweet baby Jesus! You are exactly what I've been looking for all my life! I live in Denver and have never been able to successfully make such a wonderful sweet treat until now! Thank you for all of your time and effort in converting the recipes (something I have not been able to achieve) and sharing it with the world! You are truly a gem!!
It sounds good to read about this recipe.
At the risk of sounding dumb could you tell me what the sea level is and what it has to do with baking,
Thanks
Nel
Sea level is how most of the world measures how high up in the atmosrsphere you are. So if you’re 8,000 feet up, you’re 8,000 feet above sea level. Most recipes are made for closer to sea level, so if you’re a good amount sea level, your baked goods woun’t turn out the same. They often overfill or have sink holes in the middle. That’s why there are special recipes for high altitude.
We are at 5,000 feet in Jalisco, Mexico. So grateful for this recipe.
Success in Quito, Ecuador (9350 ft)!! Thank you so much – all of my previous cake/cupcake attempts were disasters. We are so happy to find your website, and will try more of your recipes.
So glad for this recipe and the work you put in to perfect it! I live at 6,400 feet above sea level in Colorado and it is just so hard to get a nice cake out of the oven. This recipe is perfect and uses simple ingredients that I always have on hand so it’s my new go-to recipe for vanilla cake! I Pinned it so I can always return to your site. 😉
I was very skeptical about trying this receipe. I’ve wasted a lot of ingredients trying to find a good, light, moist from-scratch vanilla cupcake. No problem with chocolate, carrot, coffee cakes and so many others but plain vanilla just never turned out. Finally, this one worked perfectly – I’m hoping it doubles well as one of your reviewers said. I am only at 3500′ in Alberta, Canada. I did make 2 small adjustments for flavour: 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsps vanilla but you deserve 5 stars just for getting it right, thank you!
Hi !!
Can I use this recipe to prepare a round cake in a 9 inch pan ?
Thanks
Jui
I’m sorry, I don’t know—I’ve only ever made the recipe as cupcakes before!
Made these this past weekend and they came out perfect! I ran out of white sugar so I substituted brown sugar and they still came out great. I did add an extra egg for a little extra moisture. I live around 7,000 ft and have a hard time finding recipes for high altitude so thank you for this awesome one!
I made two identical batches of these back to back. The first were a tiny bit flat but the second had a beautiful dome and were fluffier in texture. Both tasted amazing! Only change was adding vanilla bean paste instead of extract and slightly decreasing the baking powder (because we live at 7000 feet). Will try this one again!
*****
Yes! I live at 5500′, have for fifteen years, but only recently have I been having serious problems with (some of) my recipes. I got a hankering for cupcakes with pink swiss meringue buttercream, did a search for high altitude, and thanks to google found you. These cupcakes turned out *perfectly*, just right, and I even veganized your recipe (using plant-based butter, full-fat Oatly “milk”, and carbonated water for the egg)! (my buttercream is also veganized, using aquafaba powder and plant-based “butter”) I made your cupcakes last night and had one just now as an intermezzo (ha, just a sweet tooth!) and they are tender, light, and not overly sweet. I also really appreciate your scale (for just 10 cupcakes). Thank you for creating and sharing this with us.