Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-in round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment rounds.
Whisk together cake flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Place egg whites and cream of tartar in clean bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
Whisk together egg yolks, water, oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
Add egg yolk mixture to flour mixture and whisk well to combine.
Add in about a cup of the egg white mixture to the batter and gently fold in with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
Add in the rest of the egg white mixture and fold gently until incorporated.
Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cakes are golden and spring back in the center when gently pressed.
Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto wire racks. Let cool completely.