1¼ cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup milk
2½ cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoons salt
2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
9 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and milk and beat until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt and beat until smooth. Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans. Pour batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Turn pans over to carefully put the cakes onto cooling racks. Let cool completely. While cakes are cooling, make cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth and creamy. When cakes are cooled completely, carefully cut each cake in half height wise two make four circle layers. Put a dollop of frosting onto cake stand. Carefully put the bottom half of one of the cakes on top of the dollop to help secure it in place. Place a generous amount of frosting in the center of that layer and frost carefully to outside edges. Place its top layer on top. Repeat frosting directions until all four layers are completed. Carefully frost the outside of cake. Place crushed gingersnap cookies on the outside frosted edges.