I know this is really silly of me, but it never occurred to me that I would be baking at a high altitude in Colorado. The hubby and I live at around 7,000ft - I can barely walk to the end of the driveway without needing a water break.

About two weeks ago I decided to bake my tried-and-true chocolate chip cookie recipe. This recipe is so good we served these cookies at my wedding (I will share it at some point). Not even thinking about my new altitude, I busted out a batch in no time...only to have the flatest cookies I have ever made emerge from my oven.  Duh - I live at 7,000ft! What am I doing!??!



Next I tried Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies from SmittenKitchen.com. In California, they were round and soft and wonderful. In Colorado, flat, flat and more flat. And I even adjusted the cooking temperature, etc. which I read about online.

At this point, I was seriously fearing that I may never successfully bake again, and this would truly be a tragedy for me (though my waisteline would be happy).

So this weekend I attempted my third-round of high altitude baking with another SmittenKitchen.com recipe- Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake...and....Success!! I added some additional liquid (buttermilk) and increased the cooking temperature and voila! Cake!

Topping
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges

Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk (I added an extra two tablespoons due to the altitutude - liquids evaporate faster so adding more helps things from drying out)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
Preheat the oven to 325°F (350°F for high altitude).
Grease a 10-inch (or 9-inch) cake pan.
Melt butter in a small saucepan.
Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes, then swirl in salt. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of your cake pan.
Make circles of overlapping apple slices on top of the caramel.
Chop any remaining slices and place them in the gaps.

Batter:
Using a mixer, blend 1/2 cup butter and the sugar on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to high and cream until light and fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
Alternate mixing the flour and molasses mixtures into the butter mixture, adding the next once the last has been incorporated.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at least 45 to 50 minutes (I baked for an hour) or until a wooden tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a platter.