Recipe: Why angel food cake falls out of the pan, tips, video and recipe

Hi Marilyn,
I did some surfing (you probably did too) and below are a few of the tips that I found, along with an Alton Brown video and the recipe he used in the video. I'd love to hear tips from others too. I wonder if the frozen egg whites could have held some extra water when they thawed?
Warmest regards,
Betsy

Reasons why an angel food cake may fall out of pan when turned upside down to cool:
- Bottom of the two-piece pan was pressed on, causing the cake to dislodge from the sides.
- Too much sugar.
- Flour may not have been incorporated well enough into the foam.
- Large air pockets or holes in the batter. (Cut through the batter several times after putting in the pan).
- Cooled in a room with a draft.
- Egg whites overbeaten or eggs underbeaten.
- Cake should be turned upside-down for cooling as soon as it's taken from the oven.
- Underbaked (it should be dry to the touch, deep golden, deep white cracks on top) or overbaked or wrong baking temperature.
- Angel food cakes should be baked on a rack set in the lower third of the oven.

I like this tip from Rose Levy Berabaum:
Using a spatula, wipe the inside of the pan with some of the batter before filling the pan. This is to prevent air pockets between the pan and batter.

A tip not to tip:
One baker's suggestion is to set the pan on a rack and let the cake cool upright (with the risk of the cake falling a just a little or a lot) instead of risking it falling out.

Alton Brown's angel food cake:
Here is Alton Brown's angel cake baking video. If you slide down to 8:00 minutes, that's when he's taking it out of the oven and setting it out to cool - I don't know if it will shed any light on what the problem might have been:



Alton Brown's Angel Food Cake

1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon orange extract, or extract of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated. Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan.

Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.

Cook's Note: Since they're easier to separate use the freshest eggs you can get.

Makes 1 cake, 10 to 12 servings
Source: Alton Brown, TV Food Network
Show: Good Eats, Episode: Let them Eat Foam (Angel Food Cake)