Preheat oven to 325°.
Sift together flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the flour mixture and add these ingredients to the well in this order:
Cooking oil, unbeaten egg yolks, 1/3 cup burnt sugar syrup, 1/4 cup cold water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Stir ingredients together until just mixed and set aside.
Separately, in a large mixing bowl, with an electric beater, beat 7 large egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar until egg whites form very stiff peaks.
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not underbeat.
Pour egg yolk batter gradually over whipped egg whites, very gently folding it in with a rubber scraper. The idea is not to break the delicate bubbles of the egg whites.
Immediately pour into an ungreased 10" X 4" tube pan and bake at 325° for 60-70 minutes.
Remove cake from oven, and turn tube pan upside down over a glass bottle to cool completely. (A glass vinegar or perrier bottle does the trick.)
When cake is completely cooled, loosen all edges including around the center tube with a sharp knife and turn cake out of the pan onto a cake platter.
Ice with Burnt Sugar Icing.