Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray. If making half the recipe, use three 6-inch cake pans.

Step 2

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, salt and spices.

Step 3

Separately, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, molasses, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.

Step 4

Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 5

Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.

Step 6

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.

Step 7

With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing to combine.

Step 8

Add the vanilla, and increase the speed to medium (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer); whip for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down occasionally, and only adding the milk if needed for desired consistency.Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 2 minutes to eliminate big air bubbles.

Step 9

Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. If the cakes have a domed top, use a sharp knife to slice off a small portion of the dome so the cakes are level when stacked.

Step 10

Place one cake layer on a cake board, and frost with a layer of buttercream. Repeat stacking and filling the cake layers, then frost all over with a thin "crumb coat" of buttercream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat.

Step 11

Keep the bowl of remaining buttercream covered. Frost all over with a final, swirly layer of buttercream, or leave the cake as is for a semi-naked frosted cake. For the semi-naked cake pictured, leave a few bare spots on the sides of the cake when you apply the crumb coat.

Step 12

Fit a piping bag with a coupler and tip #101 (small ruffle tip), and fill half full with buttercream. With the narrow end of the piping tip against the cake, pipe a few trees on the side and top of the cake. Add gold sprinkle rods for the tree trunks. See this gold and green Christmas tree cake for more details on this technique.

Step 13

Switch to tip #18 (small star tip), and pipe a small "shell" border around the top and bottom edge of the cake.