Use extra care with angel food

Q. Why did my angel-food cake fall?

Mary Fletcher, St. Paul, Minn.

A. Since angel-food cake is leavened only with egg whites, you need to be extra-cautious with it. It'll definitely deflate if you cook it in a non-stick pan - a "stick" pan is crucial, as the cake needs to grab onto the sides in order to stay up. (A greased "stick" pan won't work, either, since introducing fat to egg whites deflates them.)

That delicate egg-white structure is also why you cool the cake upside down in the pan, instead of unmolding directly onto a rack as you would with other cakes. As the cake cools, it's held in shape by the pan and gravity, so it keeps that airy, angel-food texture.

• Write Ask Food Network c/o Viewer Services Culinary Department, Scripps Networks, PO Box 50970, Knoxville, TN 37950.