Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8 inch cake rounds and set aside.

|| Champagne Cake || Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together eggs, vanilla, vegetable oil and sugar. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Then alternate between half of the sparkling, the rest of the dry ingredients and then the remaining sparkling. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and stir the batter.

Spread evenly on the pre-buttered pans. Use baking strips to ensure that the cake bakes flat and even.

Bake for 25-28 minutes. It should look pale in color and not golden when it is done. If you are baking in two 9 inch rounds bake for 30-35 minutes.

|| Italian Meringue Buttercream || In a small saucepan, put in 1 1/4 cup of sugar and a half cup of room temperature water and set on medium to high heat on the stove.

Separate egg whites into an electric standing mixer with a whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until foamy. Add the generous pinch of cream of tartar and 1/4 cup sugar. Whip on high until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Turn off the heat.

Once the mixture on the stove is boiling set a candy thermometer in the saucepan and wait for the syrup to reach 245 degrees. Do not leave the room. As soon as it registers that temperature turn your mixer on high and slowly pour into the egg whites. This process will cook your egg whites.

Once the syrup is completely in the egg whites continue to whip on high for another 10-15 minutes or until the mixing bowl is at room temperature. Be patient! Do not add the butter before it has cooled! Scrape the sides of the bowl every few minutes or so.

Once it is at room temperature continue to whisk on high and add the butter in two tablespoons at a time. Continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 8-10 minutes.