Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and flour a bundt pan. (This recipe makes a lot of batter, so make sure your bundt pan is at least a 10" bundt pan.)

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Whisk well and set aside.

In another bowl, add the milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and the brown sugar. Mix on medium to medium high for several minutes until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs two at a time, mixing on medium after each addition, but only until just combined.

Alternately add in the flour mixture and the milk mixture. Add in ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on medium just until combined. Add in ½ the milk mixture, mixing on medium just until combined. Add in another ⅓ of the flour mixture, mixing only until combined. Add in the last of the milk mixture, mixing only until combined, then the last of the flour mixture and mix until well combined. You only want to mix until well combined, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix again only for several seconds. Mixing for several minutes is too long.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack or a cake plate and cool completely.

If using caramel chips, melt the chips in the microwave. Just set the timer about 20 seconds at a time so they don't scorch and mix between each time you heat. Stir until they're smooth and melted and set aside while you mix up the glaze.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the softened butter and cream cheese. Mix on medium until smooth.

Add in the salt, vanilla and confectioners sugar. Mix on low at first until incorporated, then on medium until its well mixed. Add in a tablespoon of milk or cream and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again.

Add in the caramel. (You can use either melted caramel chips, homemade caramel sauce, or jarred caramel sauce.) If you're using melted caramel chips, add a small amount of the cream cheese mixture to the warm melted chips and mix together. Then add back to the glaze mixture. Now just mix until smooth. Depending on the type of caramel you used, you may not need to add any milk or cream to thin down your glaze. If it's too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or cream at a time to get it to drizzling consistency.

Drizzle or pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Chill in the fridge to set up just a bit. You can then add sugared cranberries to the middle of your bundt cake if desired. This is optional but it sure makes the cake pretty and the tartness of the cranberries really works well with the spices in the cake. (Here's a link for the recipe I used to make the sugared cranberries.) Sugared Cranberries: https://damndelicious.net/2013/12/22/sugared-cranberries/