Courtney Rich, from Cake by Courtney, showed Brooke how to make the perfect chocolate cake and frosting. You can follow Courtney's Instagram @cakebycourtney or head on over to her website for more fun recipes atcakebycourtney.com. A couple of tip she recommends when baking in high altitude are:
-Make sure your measurements are exact
-Bake the cake at 350 degrees
-Don't over beat the batter to avoid a sinkhole in the cake
-Always use parchment paper
-Use a cooking spray and spray your pans twice
-Get an internal thermometer for the oven
-Use a kitchen scale to achieve even cakes
High Altitude Friendly Chocolate Cake
Yield: two (or three*), 8-inch round cakes
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups, minus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot water
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Butter or spray two or three 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray and flour the pans.
2. 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.
3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 for two 8-inch pans and 18-20 minutes for three 8-inch pans, until a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
7. 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.
