Angel Food Cake Again

I posted this in a thread about flour.  Has anyone had luck making one from scratch here and getting it as light as the box mixes?  I have tried various types of flour (recipes call for cake flour).  Perhaps if Santa brings me a Kitchen Aid Mixer it might help.  Maybe I am not whipping my egg whites enough?

Yeah I made one a few years ago for my husband's birthday using Alton Brown's recipe - you'll also *really* want to watch that "Let Them Eat Foam" Good Eats episode on youtube, too, as he gives a lot of very important make-or-break info in it.

The cake was a total PAIN IN MY A$$ to make and I'll probably never make another one, but it did turn out absolutely delicious. I just don't think it was significantly more delicious than other cakes that aren't as big of a pain.

I think it is all about the egg white for Angel Food cake.  The single most important tip I can recall my mom drilling into me is that, like anything else involving whipped egg white, you should make absolutely certain that there's no oil or grease anywhere near it as you're whipping.  No plastic bowls or utensils, either.

Is it possible you're over-beating?  That can be a problem, too.   

you'll also *really* want to watch that "Let Them Eat Foam" Good Eats episode on youtube, too, as he gives a lot of very important make-or-break info in it.

I just watched it.  Thanks. :-)

I think humidity can also play a role in it, but the egg whites are the biggest thing.  

Also, make sure the vanilla extract you use is alocohol based.  Some extracts I have purchased here have been oil based and oil is bad, for the egg whites anyway.