First, let's turn the oven on to 180°C (350°F), and If your oven has a fan setting, you should bake the cake at a slightly lower temperature of 160°C (320°F), as the fan will cook the cakes faster! Give your two 8-inch cake pans a nice coating of grease.

In a bowl, gently sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Use a whisk to mix them until they look perfectly combined, and then set those dry things aside for a moment.

In a large bowl, bring together the light brown sugar, vegetable oil, blackstrap molasses, egg, and vanilla. Whisk these lovely wet ingredients until they are smooth and well combined.

Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Use your whisk to mix them until they are just combined. Don't worry, the batter will be very thick at this stage!

To finish, pour in the hot milk. Give the batter one last whisk until it is smooth and lovely—be careful not to overmix!

Divide the batter evenly into your two prepared pans. Gently drop the cake tins a little onto the counter to release any large air bubbles. Bake them for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the middle comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.

Let the cakes cool in their pans for 20 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. While they are cooling, we can start on that wonderful frosting!

In a large bowl, put your unsalted butter. Use your electric mixer (hand or stand mixer works well!) to cream it on a medium-high speed for a few minutes until it's wonderfully light and fluffy.

Now, gradually add your powdered sugar in three batches, mixing on a low speed. Make sure each batch of sugar is fully mixed into the butter before you add the next.

Next, add in your cold cream cheese, vanilla, fresh lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon. Mix on a medium speed just until the frosting looks perfectly smooth. Again, try to avoid over-mixing it. (If you notice any little lumps, peek at the tip below for a quick fix!)

Once your cake layers are completely cool to the touch, you can assemble your beautiful cake.

Measuring Brown Sugar: When measuring brown sugar, press it down firmly into the measuring cup so it keeps its shape when turned out.

Molasses Swap: You can use light molasses, but know it will make the cake a little sweeter and the flavor less deep. If you use it, you might want to use a little less brown sugar in the cake.

Firm Frosting Secret: For a frosting that holds its shape well (especially for piping), always use firm, cold cream cheese, not the spreadable type.

Fixing soft frosting: If the weather is warm and your frosting gets too soft, simply pop it into the fridge for about half an hour, then whip it again to bring back its piping consistency.

Convection Ovens: If your oven has a fan setting, you should bake the cake at a slightly lower temperature of 160°C (320°F), as the fan will cook the cakes faster.

Lumpy Frosting Rescue: If your frosting gets lumpy, it's usually the cream cheese not mixing well. Try mixing it on the highest speed, or switch to the whisk attachment on a stand mixer—that should smooth things right out! You can also whip the cream cheese until smooth before adding it to the butter and sugar.