Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a spacious bowl.
2. Add the oil and mix by hand until combined.
3. Stir in the milk until integrated
4. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of sugar and beat until just combined.
5. Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until foamy. Continue to whip at high speed, adding the remaining ½-cup sugar a little at a time, until whites hold soft, glossy peaks.
6. Fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the batter by hand. Repeat adding the next and the final third.
7. Fill each cake pan with half of the batter.
8. Give pans 4 to 5 good whacks on the counter and run a knife through horizontally and vertically several times to release air bubbles.
9. Place pans on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake 30 minutes or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently in the center, and have just barely begun to shrink from the edges of the pan.
10. Sit the tins on a rack and cool for 10 minutes then invert to remove from the pans. Peel off the parchment paper and set the layers—right side up—on the racks until completely cooled.