Grease and flour 2 8" round cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites with baking powder until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, cream sugar with shortening until smooth.
Add cold water, vanilla, flour, and pinch of salt. Mix well.
Fold in whipped egg whites gently. Make sure they are completely incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake tests done.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
Combine the egg whites, sugar, water and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. (Or you can use a heat safe glass bowl.) Mix thoroughly.
Boil water a couple inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler over medium heat.
Place the top pan over boiling water and beat constantly using a high powered hand mixer until mixture holds a peak. This will take at least 7 minutes. The mixture will get fluffy, bright white and thick.
Remove the pan or bowl from the heat. Take the top double boiler (or bowl) off the bottom.
Add vanilla and beat again until thick enough to spread.
Makes 5-6 cups of frosting.
Assemble the cake:
Place one cake layer on a cake plate.
Frost with frosting.
Place the second cake layer on top.
Frost the top and outsides of the cake.
Decorate as desired.
Store this cake in the refrigerator.
Notes
*You can use butter in place of shortening, but your cake will not be pure white and the crumb will be slightly heavier with butter.**For a lighter crumb, use cake flour. All purpose will work though!The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**