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1
Pour molasses, maple syrup, and beer into a large pot. Whisk together. Bring to just under the boil, then take off the heat. Add the baking soda. Careful. It will rise up like a volcano. Set aside to cool completely.
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2
Heat oven to 350u00b0 F.
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3
Butter and flour your baking pans. Grease a small extra pan just in case you have extra batter.
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4
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking power, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
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5
Whisk together the eggs, oil, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk egg mixture in with the cooled molasses/beer mixture. Pour liquid mixture over the sifted dry ingredients. Whisk together until there are no large clumps of flour. Small clumps are fine.
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6
Place your chinois or large fine strainer over a bowl or bain marie. Using a pestle or a wooden spoon, help the batter pass through the strainer into the container below. Stir the grated ginger in with the strained batter.
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7
Pour batter into greased baking pans. Do not pour up more than halfway or you might have quite a mess in your oven.
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8
Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325u00b0 F. Bake for another 20 minutes. If your pans are different sizes, give the smaller one a jiggle. If several inches in the center move like a water bed, it needs more time. If only the very center is loose, take it out of the oven. Another way to check is with a toothpick or a paring knife. You want the center to be a bit wet and just moving towards a crumb. Take them out earlier than you think for optimum moistness. (Sometimes this take a little trial and error. But remember, you can alway put them back into the oven.)
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9
Cool cakes completely in the pans. Top with as much cream cheese icing as you dare. If your cake is tall enough, you can cut it in half for a middle layer of cream cheese icing. Serve right away. But I have been amazed at how moist this cake will be even after a few days.
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10
Place all ingredients in a standing mixer and beat the heck out of them for 2 minutes with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides. Taste. Add more vanilla or salt if you wish. If it's still a little lumpy, beat for 30 more seconds. This will keep in the fridge for about a week.