Gingerbread Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together on medium speed. Once blended, add in the molasses and mix together.
4. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with your spatula as needed.
5. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with your spatula.
6. Coat three 6 inch pans with cooking spray and parchment rounds or butter and flour.
7. Evenly divide the batter into the pans and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool for 10-15 minutes on a cooling rack before gently running a knife along the edge of each pan, topping the cake with another cooling rack and turning each cake out. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
2. With the mixer on low, slowly add in spoonfuls of confectioners sugar.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Chill frosting until needed.

Gingerbread Cookie Topping

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the warm melted butter with the brown sugar and molasses. Let cool.
4. With the mixer on low, add the egg yolk to the butter mixture.
5. Slowly add in spoonfuls of the flour mixture until the dough starts to form. 
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and form the dough into a ball with your hands. It should come together, but not be wet or crumbly. If it’s too wet, continue to add a little more of the flour mixture. If it’s too crumbly, add a little of the egg white until you reach the right consistency.
7. Carefully form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 15 minutes.
8. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut out six small gingerbread men.
9. Place cookies on a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies are firm around the edges.
10. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a cooling rack.

Cake Assembly

1. Once your cake layers have cooled, carefully cut the tops off with a serrated knife so that each layer is level.
2. Place one layer, top side down, on a cake board and spread with frosting. Repeat this step with the next layer.
3. Apply a crumb coat, or a thin layer of frosting, around and on top of the cake and chill for 20-25 minutes.
4. Apply another layer of frosting around the cake and on top, setting some aside to pipe the swirls.
5. Place a round piping tip into a pastry bag and fill it with the remaining frosting.
6. Pipe six swirls on top of the cake, and place a gingerbread man in each swirl.
7. Enjoy!