preheat your oven.
lightly grease the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans and then top with parchment rounds.
place the pans on a baking sheet - this will make taking both cakes in and out of the oven at once a breeze.
in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
in a liquid measuring cup, combine the half-and-half and vanilla.
crack the eggs into a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
slowly add the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the bowl all the way to the bottom after the second and final egg.
the batter may begin to look slightly broken by the end of this step - it’s ok.
on medium speed, swiftly alternate between adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry.
This shouldn’t take longer than a minute.
Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl, all the way to the bottom, making sure there are no hidden dry patches.
Turn the speed up to medium and mix for an additional 30 seconds to help build the structure of the batter.
DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
cool to room temperature before removing from the pan.
use an offset spatula to help release the sides of the cake from the pan.