Place the sugar in a food processor. Turn the food processor on and let it run for 2 minutes.
Take half of the sugar along with the flour and salt, sift it twice into a large bowl. Set aside.
Place the egg whites into the body of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment along with the cream of tartar.
Place the mixer on medium speed and very slowly pour the remaining sugar in while the mixer is running.
Once all of the sugar is added, place the mixer on medium-high speed and whip until soft peaks for 2-4 minutes.
Stir in the extracts.
Take the bowl off of the mixer and in four batches, sift the flour mixture over the egg whites.
Once sifted, gently fold it in, do so so you don’t deflate the egg white.
Once all the flour is mixed in, add the batter to a 10-inch ungreased tube pan.
Gently shake the pan back and forth so the batter evens out and is almost smooth on top.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Take the pan out of the oven and immediately flip it upside down on top of a cooling rack. Let it cool for 3 hours like this.
Run a thin knife along the edge of the pan and invert the pan again, give it a few taps until the cake releases from the pan. Let cool completely, use a sharp serrated knife to slice and serve.
Notes
Make sure that you use a tube pan for this.
You can top with various toppings, see above for some ideas.
This can be flavored with other extracts if desired.
The almond extract is optional in this recipe.
This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Using a serrated knife is the best way to cut this cake.
Make sure that you gently fold the flour into the egg whites, otherwise the cake may not turn out.
This needs to cool upside down to prevent it from deflating.