Gingerbread Layer Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.

Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and beat on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and molasses and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.

With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.

In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Cream butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping down bowl and paddle a few times in between. Add powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down bowl and paddle between intervals. Mix on medium until fully incorporated.

Turn mixer to low and add vanilla and milk. Mix on medium for two minutes. Scrape down bowl and paddle and add salt. Mix for another minute on medium until incorporated.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about four minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for two minutes.

Fill and crumb coat the room temperature cake layers with Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Frost the final coat of the cake with Chocolate Buttercream and chill for another 30 minutes. Decorate by adding a white chocolate ganache drip (optional) and adhering candy to the cake with Vanilla Buttercream. Alternatively you can adhere the candy with Chocolate Buttercream or Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream.