Feather Cake

Preparation - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Dry Ingredients - Combine the dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Batter - Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla extract and beat to combine, about 30 seconds. Add half of the flour mixture. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold the dry ingredients into the batter just until combined. Add the milk and mix until smooth. Add the rest of the flour mixture and gently fold just until combined.

Baking - Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting - Make the cream cheese frosting: In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the frosting over the top of the cake in an even layer. Slice and serve. Store the cake, covered, for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.