Preheat the oven or convection oven to 350 degrees.

Separate the eggs, as directed above. Set aside the yolks. Pour the egg whites into a measuring cup. A dozen eggs should produce about 1 ½ cups of egg white.

Sift the flour with ¾ of a cup of sugar and the salt. Repeat that process two more times.

Pour the egg whites into the mixer bowl of the stand mixer, then add in the cream of tartar, lemon juice, vanilla, and water.

Mix the egg whites with the wet ingredients on medium-high speed. When the egg whites appear about five times as large as when you began, you are done.

Add the remaining sugar to the mix one tablespoon at a time. Mix it in for 30 seconds, then add another tablespoon. Mix for 30 seconds. Follow this procedure until you have completely mixed in all of the sugar.

Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the flour mixture on top of the egg white mixture.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the dry ingredients. Repeat the slow-motion mixing until all of the flour is well blended into the egg mix.

Spread the batter evenly into the tube pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes on the center oven rack.

Remove the cake from the oven and turn it upside down to cool.

Wait for about one and a half hours, then turn the cake upright. Use a butter knife to gently loosen the edges of the cake from the pan.

Flip the cake out onto a cooling rack gently. Let it cool one more hour before slicing.