¾ cup (90 grams) good quality, dark dutch-process cocoa powder
2½ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ cups buttermilk
⅔ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 (or 4, if you have them) 6-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, dust with cocoa powder and tap out the excess.
Pour the hot water over the tea bags and steep for 10 minutes, covered.
Combine all the dry ingredients including the sugar in a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
Squeeze the water out of the tea bags and discard them, then mix the tea, buttermilk,oil, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix by hand with a wooden spoon or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment just until well-combined, being careful not to over mix.
Fill the cake pans ½ full, then bake for 20 minutes undisturbed. Rotate the pans in the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the pans on cooling racks.
As soon as the pans are cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edges and turn the cakes out onto the racks to come to room temperature. If you are baking the layers in batches you can now wash, dry and prep the pans and bake the additional layers.Assembly // Level your cakes, if desired, and place the first layer face-up on a cake board or serving plate. Fill a pastry bag (or large ziplock with the corner cut) with buttercream and pipe a circle of buttercream around the edge of your first cake layer to create a dam. Fill with a spoonful or two of ganache, then place the second layer on top and press down gently. Repeat with the next two layers, then place the last layer face down on top. Ice the top and sides with buttercream and decorate with flowers.* If you'd like to make this cake after Lover's Leap is (sadly) sold out, I'd suggest using Lord Bergamot or Ceylon Uva
Recipe by oh honey bakes at https://ohhoneybakes.com/tea-and-chocolate-cake-with-raspberry-rosewater-buttercream/