Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 3 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8x3 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).

In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.

Finely grate two apples (minus the core - see video for how I do this) and measure the grated apple out so you have two cups (300g). Set aside.

In a large bowl combine light brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla and shredded apple from previous step. Using a whisk, mix until well combined and smooth.

Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix the batter (see note 4).

Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.

Once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. While cooling, prepare the apple filling and cream cheese frosting.

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and cook until the butter and sugar are completely melted, making sure to stir continuously.

Cook for another few minutes until the filling is thick. Once ready, place into a bowl to cool.

To a large bowl add in unsalted butter and using an electric mixer (see note 5 if using a stand mixer) cream for a few minutes on a medium high speed until light and fluffy.

Add in the powdered sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of powdered sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.

Next add in cold cream cheese, vanilla, fresh lemon juice and cinnamon and mix on a medium speed just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing as the more you mix the softer the frosting will become.

Using a serrated knife, level the tops of the cake layers so they're nice and flat.

Place the first cake layer onto your cake stand and place a generous amount of the cream cheese buttercream on top and smooth it out with an offset spatula.

Using a 1M piping tip, pipe a dam of frosting around the edges of the cake layer. Fill the middle with the apple filling (make sure the filling isn't warm otherwise it will melt the frosting).

Place your next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more buttercream. I like to use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides.

Using the same 1M piping tip, pipe some swirls on the top of the cake and you can use the extra frosting to do additional piping too :)