Espresso and Lime

0 Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
2 Grease two 8 inch or 9 inch cake pans or a 9"x13" baking dish, line with parchment paper and set aside for now
Make the cake...
3 Combine 8 tablespoons of room temperature butter and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer to mix on medium speed until completely combined
4 Add 1 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and continue mixing on medium speed until the mixture is thick and develops a pale yellow color
5 Add 4 large eggs and a tablespoon of vanilla extract and mix on medium high speed until the mixture is fluffy and full of air bubbles
6 Sift 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of cloves and a pinch of black pepper into the bowl and mix until just combined
7 Add 1 1/4 cup of whole milk and mix until just incorporated (tiny lumps are ok! Do not over mix this batter)
8 Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans
9 Bake in a 325 degree oven for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick will come out of the center of the cake clean
10 Transfer the cake pans onto a heat proof surface and let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes before transferring them out of the pans and onto a cooling rack to cool fully before frosting
Make the frosting...
12 In a large bowl, whip 1 cup of room temperature butter with 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until creamy
13 Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar along with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, a pinch of cardamom, nutmeg and salt and mix until fully combined
14 Continue adding confectioners sugar until you achieve the consistency and level of sweetness you prefer
Assemble the cake...
16 Once the cakes are fully cooled, add the frosting
17 Layer and decorate as desired
18 Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator