Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour two 8" x 8" square baking pans or round cake pans. Dust lightly with cocoa powder to prevent cake from having white streaks.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, dry mustard and pepper in a large bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy and pale yellow. Add in the sugar and beat for two minutes on medium speed. Add in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Pour in the molasses in a steady stream until fully incorporated. Stir in the coffee, Buttermilk and Vanilla paste -mix for 1 minute on low.

With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture until it is just combined with the wet ingredients Do not over mix. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and finish stirring by hand to prevent over-mixing.

Pour the mixture evenly into the two prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. If the cake is browning too quickly, place a piece of foil over the top to prevent drying out.

Remove cakes from the oven and set to cool on a wire rack. Invert onto a serving tray to serve after 10-15 minutes of rest. Once completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar using a doily to create a beautiful sugar pattern. Serve with whipped cream or salted caramel ice cream.