1 1/2 cups lightly salted butter (not sweet or whipped)
2 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon mace
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

With pastry brush and softened butter from the 1 1/2 cups, grease bottom and sides of 3 1/2-quart cast-iron bundt pan with nonstick coating or 10" x 4" aluminum tube pan. Dust pan with flour (not from the 2 2/3 cups), turn pan upside down and shake to remove excess. Turn on oven; set at 300 degrees.

Sift flour into bowl, then spoon lightly into measuring cup for dry ingredients and fill heaping full. Do not shake down or pack with spoon. Level off with metal spatula. Put flour in sifter with soda, mace, and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar. Sift into bowl containing butter and blend well with fingers.

Stir lemon juice and vanilla into unbeaten egg yolks. Add a small amount at a time to butter mixture, blending well with fingers after each addition. With electric mixer or rotary beater, beat egg whites with the salt until whites stand in soft glossy points, but not until dry. Gradually add remaining granulated sugar, beating after each addition until blended. With spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold in cream of tartar. With hands, gently fold whites into batter until whites are distributed evenly throughout.

Spoon into pan, smoothing top with back of spoon. Set pan down hard on counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake about 2 hours. Cake is done when it shrinks from sides of pan and surface springs back when pressed lightly with finger. Turn off heat and leave cake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in pan on wire rack 30 minutes. Loosen sides with spatula, turn cake out on rack and let stand until completely cold. Put cake on serving plate; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Note To store cake, cover with cake cover or loosely with foil or plastic wrap, tucking it in tightly under plate. Store in cool place. Stored this way, cake will keep several weeks. If frozen, then wrapped well and stored in freezer, cake will keep almost indefinitely.