Preheat the oven at 170ºC/ 340ºF conventional oven and prepare a 2x20 cm (8 inch) baking pan with parchment paper.
Sift together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside.
330 g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon ground cardamom, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or in a bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix it on medium/high speed for 3 minutes.
180 g butter, 150 g granulated sugar, 150 g dark brown sugar
Add the eggs one at a time into the mixture and mix it in until combined.
4 large eggs
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue by adding half the flour mixture, continuing on low speed, mixing until just combined.
Add the sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and mix until just combined, make sure not to over mix the cake batter. Then add the other half of the flour and mix until combined.
240 g sour cream, 60 g vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Using a rubber spatula, give the batter a gentle fold to make sure all of the ingredients have combined.
Divide the cake into the 2 prepared baking pans and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Be aware that these cake layers stay very light in color and therefore won’t look browned when done.
Let the cakes cool on a cooling rack. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cake from the cake tin and let the cakes cool down completely.