Start by preheating the oven to 350F.

Using an electric hand whisk or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites in a clean large bowl on medium to high speed until it starts to foam up Add in the lemon juice and continue beating. Slowly add in ¼ cup of the sugar. Beat for an additional 2 minutes until medium peaks are formed.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron strands into a fine powder. Place the whole milk in a small sauce pan on low heat and add the saffron powder. Heat the milk for a few minutes just until hot but not boiling, to infuse the saffron flavour. Remove from the heat.

In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla and the remaining 1 cup sugar until pale yellow. Add the saffron milk and mix to combine.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the egg yolk mixture and with a whisk, lightly whisk until no more flour clumps can be seen, being careful not to over mix as this build up the gluten in the flour and creates a tough cake.

Add ¼ of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold to combine. Add the egg yolk mixture to the rest of the egg whites and fold with a spatula until the batter is fully combined and no white streaks can be seen.

Pour the cake batter into a 9 by 13 inch ungreased glass baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Crush the saffron strands using a mortar and pestle, then add the powder to the whole milk. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, mix together the saffron milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

After the cake has cooled for 5 minutes, poke the cake with a fork all over the surface to create tiny holes for the soaking mixture to soak into.

Pour over the milk mixture, reserving about ¾ of a cup for serving. It may seem like a lot but it will continue to soak into the cake as it rests. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour or until serving.

Before serving the cake, crush the last ¼ teaspoon of saffron and add the saffron powder to the whipped cream. Use an electric mixer to whip the saffron cream with the sugar in a large bowl to form soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the cake and level with a spatula to form a flat surface.

Garnish the the cake with crushed pistachios and more saffron strands if desired. Serve immediately with more saffron milk on the side.