Gingerbread cake

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sifted premium wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 110 g plus 3 tbsp (45 g) butter at room temperature
• 2/3 cup cooking fat
• 1 and 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light molasses or dark corn syrup
• 5 category CO eggs (separate into yolks and whites)
• 1/3 cup sweet fortified wine Madeira (best made from Portuguese Bual grapes, or the sweeter Malvasia grape)
• 1 cup of milk

Preparation:

1. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices onto a piece of waxed paper. Beat the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and beat well.
   
   Add the egg yolks one at a time. Mix together the Madeira and milk. Add the sifted ingredients to the cream mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and gently but thoroughly fold them into the batter.
2. Preheat oven to medium-low (160°C). Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured cake pan with a vent in the center and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the edges of the pan and springs back when pressed.
   
   Cool the cake upside down on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to lift the cake off the rack, remove it from the pan, and let it cool to room temperature before slicing.
   
   Serve as is, dusted with powdered sugar, or, if desired, spread with your favorite butter cream (such as Egg and butter cream with chocolate), to which add a tablespoon of Madeira and 2-3 tablespoons of chopped preserved ginger.