Don't Let Colorado's Altitude
Ruin Your Holiday Baking

If this is your first holiday season in Colorado -- or even if you are a veteran of cooking at Colorado's high altitude -- your oven could hold some unpleasant surprises for you.

But not if you plan ahead and learn the basics of high altitude baking.

That's easy, thanks to a free brochure, "High Altitude Food Preparation." This brochure comes to you from Colorado State University Extension and describes the whys and hows of changing preparation temperatures, timing or the recipe itself to ensure a successful food product.

In this brochure, you'll find adjustments for canning, candy, deep-fat frying, pudding making and baking. It also suggests additional publications to order from Colorado State's "The Other Bookstore." This is Extension's Resource Center at Colorado State University, 115 General Services, Dept. CC, Fort Collins, CO, 80523. You also can order by calling (970) 491-6198. A small charge is assessed for some publications.

One such publication is "Mile High Cakes," which includes recipes for traditional holiday favorites such as light and dark fruit cakes and gingerbread. The angel food recipe makes a wonderful cake that can be filled with a variety of mixtures for a special, light, holiday dessert. The booklet includes the following recipe for white cake.

Should you choose to adjust an old family recipe, here are the adjustments to make:
* Reduce the baking powder. For each teaspoon, decrease it 1/8 to a 1/4 teaspoon.
* Reduce the sugar. For each cup, decrease it zero to two tablespoons.
* Increase the liquid. For each cup, add two to four tablespoons.

Only repeated experiments with each recipe can give the most successful proportions to use. Try the smaller adjustment first. Increasing the baking temperature 15 to 25 degrees F sets the batter before the cells formed by the leavening gas expand too much, causing the cake to "fall."

WHITE CAKE

• 2-1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups skim milk
• 5 egg whites

Directions:
1. Grease and flour pans.
2. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into mixer bowl.
3. Add oil, vanilla, milk, and egg whites.
4. Beat 30 seconds on low speed, scraping frequently.
5. Beat 7-1/2 minutes on high speed. Scrape twice during this beating.
6. Pour batter into pans.
7. Bake at 375 degrees F for the time recommended below.*
8. Remove from oven and cool in pans about 12 minutes.
9. Remove from pans and allow to finish cooling on rack.
*Oblong 9x13x2-inch-30 to 35 minutes (small cake)
Two 8-inch layers - 25 to 28 minutes
24 cupcakes (1/2 full)- 23 to 25 minutes.

Use this white cake as the foundation for a special holiday dessert. Use orange gelatin for a Thanksgiving, and red or green gelatin for a Christmas Poke Cake.

HOLIDAY POKE CAKE

2 round, 8 or 9 x 1-1/2 inch white cake layers (You also can use a cake mix. Follow High Altitude package directions.)

• 2 packages (3 oz) orange, raspberry, or lime flavor gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 container (8 oz) non-dairy whipped topping, colored to look festive

Bake cake as directed; cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Place cake layers, top side up, back in the two clean pans; prick each layer with utility fork at one-half inch intervals. Pour two cups of boiling water over the gelatin in a bowl; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Spoon half the gelatin over one layer. Repeat for the second layer. Refrigerate three to four hours. Dip one layer, in pan, into warm water 10 seconds; invert on plate, gently shaking to loosen. Remove pan; spread layer with one cup of the whipped topping. Remove remaining layer from pan as above; invert on first layer. Remove pan; frost with remaining topping. Refrigerate.

For the best tasting holiday breads, order the booklet "Making Yeast Breads at High Altitudes." The section about rolls suggests a wide variety of shaping ideas. The booklet also includes tips for successful bread machine baking. High altitude has its most pronounced effect on the rising time of bread. (The time is decreased.) Punching the dough down twice gives time for the flavor to develop. In addition, flours tend to be drier and thus able to absorb more liquid in high, dry climates, so a good idea is to add the flour gradually, planning to use less than in a more humid climate.

REFRIGERATOR YEAST ROLLS

The following recipe, which is from High Altitude Baking - Bulletin 497A, can be made on the weekend before Thanksgiving and stored in the refrigerator. It also can be shaped after the first rising and the rolls put in the freezer for up to two weeks. To give your home a tantalizing aroma, and to whet the appetite even more than it already is, bake just before serving time.

• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 cup warm water (105-115 F)
• 1 cup milk
• 7 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1/3 cup shortening or 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt

CRANBERRY CHERRY CONSERVE

For holiday gift-giving or to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey, try this recipe for Cranberry Cherry Conserve. Because of the lower boiling point of water at high altitude, the processing time for this recipe and other canned foods should be increased one minute for each 1,000 feet above sea level if this time is 20 minutes or less. If the time is more than 20 minutes, increase by two minutes per 1,000 feet. This conserve requires 15 minutes processing time at sea level. At 5,000 feet, the time increases to 20 minutes and at 6,000 feet to 21 minutes. Food preservation fact sheets are available at Extension offices.

• 4 cups cleaned cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups sugar
• 4 cups frozen sweet cherries, thawed, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 orange
• 1 cup seedless raisins
• 2 cups water
• 1 pouch liquid pectin

Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturer's instructions. Cut up orange, remove seeds and finely chop or grind in a food processor or blender. Combine cranberries, cherries, orange and water in a large (six to eight quart) sauce pot. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, pecans and raisins and bring to a full, rolling boil. Boil hard one minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in liquid pectin. Carefully pour hot conserve into hot jars, one at a time, leaving one-fourth inch head space. Wipe jar rim clean, place lid on and screw band down evenly and firmly. Place closed jar in canner. Repeat for each jar. Process 15 minutes, plus one additional minute for each 1,000 feet above sea level, in a boiling water bath canner. Yield: about six 12 ounce jars.

For more information, contact your local Colorado State University Extension office.

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