Earl Grey Poppy Seed Tea Cakes

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow in London like I do. I am Lithuania after all!

Anyway (change of the subject), around to weeks ago I came across this recipe on SprinkleBakes website that blew my mind. I honestly get excited when I see nontraditional  ingredients matched together. So I made it! I changed the the deco to more "natural" looking and it came out like something really suitable to serve on St. Valentines day (very dainty as my flat mate said). But I could not wait until February... so there you go!

EARL GREY POPPY SEED TEA CAKES
Makes 6

For the cake:

170g cup caster sugar

6 Earl Grey tea bags (removed from the bags)

2 tbsp poppy seeds

4 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp. rapeseed oil
2 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

icing sugar for dusting

For the Earl Grey syrup:

170g caster sugar

180ml water

4 Earl Grey tea bags

For buttercream:

115g unsalted butter, softened

250g icing sugar

1 tsp orange extract

Juice of 1 small lemon

Zest of 1 small orange

Zest of 1 small lemon

1. Preheat oven to 180C.  Grease an 11x14-inch pan (I used oven shelve pan) with butter and line with baking paper (grease the paper as well).
2. In a large bowl beat the eggs, then add sugar, tea leaves (from the tea bags), poppy seeds, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix well!
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Slowly add to the liquid ingredients.  Mix until well combined.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and tilt pan to distribute the mixture evenly.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Check at 12 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back when pressed with fingers. 
6. Turn cake out and dust surface with powdered sugar.  Let cool completely.
7. Use cookie cutter rings to cut out about 18 cake circles.  Set aside.
8. To make the syrup stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Place over medium-high heat and bring to a bubble. Stir to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and place the teabags in the hot sugar syrup to steep.  Infuse for 5-7 minutes, then remove and discard tea bags.  Set aside to cool.
9. To make buttercream cream butter together with sugar. Add orange extract and lemon juice; beat again for another minute until light and fluffy.  Add zests and mix until smooth.  Transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag with the end snipped (no decorator tip necessary)
10. To assemble brush each cake circle with the syrup and apply some buttercream on top of 12 of them. Join three together leaving the one for the top without the cream. Dust the tops with icing sugar. I used small heart shaped cookie cutter as a stencil to make poppy seed deco on top.