Baking at altitude - do I need to adjust the time?

Question

I'd love to try this recipe but hesitate as baking at altitude is always a little different. Boulder is about 5,400 ft (where I live) as there is no flour or sugar, the two things I usually need to adjust, I'm wondering whether I need to adjust timing? thanks for any help.

mattgiallongo · Answer

Hi Meredith,
I used to live in Fort Collins and New Mexico so I have had some experience dealing with high altitude baking. Yes, baked goods are usually done sooner because of the elevation but for this cake, my guess would be that it is would bake in the time frame RLB suggests. The reason being because there is no leveling in it and it is baked in a water bath. Because water can only heat to a certain temperature it cooks custards like this very gently. If there were no water bath involved my suggestion might be to bump the temperature up 15 degrees, decrease the sugar by two table spoons, and add an extra egg yolk (for structure) but I would trust this as is.
King Arthur Flour has a great article about high altitude baking and how to adjust. I hope this helps!

Baking at altitude - do I need to adjust the time?

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