Royals
The Royal Family Shares A Common Sweet Tooth & Loves A Good Dessert
Queen Elizabeth especially.
Marie-Antoinette was quoted as saying during her reign in France, “Let them eat cake,” and the British royal family took her literally. From Queen Elizabeth right on down the ranks, there doesn’t seem to be a member of the royal family who will not drop everything for a quick dessert. Even the more health-conscious among their group like Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have been known to enjoy a piece of cake or a cookie here and there.
Everything about the royal family is steeped in tradition, of course, and their dessert choices are no exception. Queen Victoria herself had a particular sponge cake she enjoyed so much that people just went ahead and called it a Queen Victoria sponge. It sounds pretty delicious so she wasn’t wrong, jam and butter cream slathered between two thick slices of sponge cake. This is what’s called a “teatime” cake in the royal family, often served at garden parties. Probably because you can eat it like a delicate little cake sandwich and no one will say a word about it.
The royal family continues to love a good dessert to this day, and while they stick with some tried-and-true favorites, they’re not turning their noses up at a new addition here and there.
Queen Of Chocolate
Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cake is a chocolate biscuit cake made by her former personal chef Darren McGrady, who told the British Heritage website that she can’t resist eating this particular dessert until it’s all gone, “She'll take a small slice every day until eventually there is only one tiny piece, but you have to send that up, she wants to finish the whole of that cake.” I knew I liked her.
Raspberries Everywhere
Another favorite dessert of the queen’s is made from raspberries in her own garden at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. McGrady told My London News that she asked him to make a dessert with these raspberries and he created Framboises St George, which he described as a “a sort of raspberry fool shaped like the English flag.” Fools are basically fruit served in custard, by the way.
Staying On Brand In Wales
As the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles clearly feels a real affection for all things Welsh. Including his love of Welsh cakes, a kind of sweet scone he and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles are said to eat for afternoon with clotted cream and jam.
Camilla Likes A Classic With A Twist
Camilla Parker Bowles once made a classic Victoria sponge cake for a Poetry Together tea party she was attending, but she went a bit unconventional with the filling. According to her recipe shared with Hello!, the cake can be filled with jam or lemon curd or... Nutella. What a renegade.
Princess Diana Was A Breat & Butter Girl
Royal chef Darren McGrady revealed the most beloved dessert of the most beloved Princess Diana in his book Eating Royally. He wrote that the Princess of Wales loved bread and butter pudding, which is “a cross between a pudding and creme brûlée, a real nursery comfort food,” McGrady explained. “She couldn’t resist going for seconds.”
The Chocolate Tradition Continues
Much like his grandmother, Prince William is a huge fan of chocolate biscuit cake. So much so that he chose the recipe for the wedding cake when he married Kate Middleton in 2011.
Caramels & Bananas OK If You Insist
Both Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly love a caramel banana cake that was baked for them in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace when they were children, and you can get the recipe here because it sounds decadent.
Kate Middleton’s Sticky Toffee Pudding
Kate Middleton loves a sticky toffee pudding, and if you haven’t tried it trust me, you will too. It’s a traditional holiday dessert that the Duchess of Cambridge enjoys with clotted cream, per Darren McGrady, and it’s rich with butter and brown sugar. So good.
Prince Harry Is Bananas For Bananas
Ever since he was a little boy in Kensington Palace, Prince Harry has loved all things bananas. Chef McGrady shared a YouTube tutorial of one of the Duke of Sussex’s favorites, a banana flan, which is essentially a banana custard in a pastry shell. Simple and sweet.
Meghan Markle’s Amazing Banana Bread
Prince Harry really lucked out when he married Meghan Markle, and not just because she’s an intelligent, empathetic woman who makes an excellent partner for him. She also has an incredible recipe for banana bread made with chocolate chips and ginger that she shared with some of her hosts on her royal tour of Australia, so Prince Harry clearly hit the jackpot here.
As American As Berry Crumble
Meghan Markle once hilariously listed her favorite dessert as “wine” in an interview with Delish, but she still has a few other sweet favorites up her sleeve. As a well known foodie who loves to cook, Markle is reportedly partial to a ginger berry crumble recipe she shared with Cooking Light in 2014. And it sounds amazing.
Breaking The Fruitcake Tradition
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry married in 2018, they broke with the royal tradition of having a fruitcake as their wedding cake and instead went with a lemon elderflower cake. Markle certainly seems to have a preference for fruit flavors, although I’m surprised Prince Harry didn’t sneak a banana in there.
Making The Christmas Pudding
In December 2019, Prince George joined Prince William, Prince Charles, and Queen Elizabeth to make traditional Christmas puddings for troops in the Royal British Legion. It was his job to stir the raisins and nuts into the heavy batter, and he did a good job not helping himself to a taste.
The Next Generation Of Sponge
When it came time for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis to celebrate their mother for Mother’s Day, they baked her a classic Victoria sponge decorated with pipe cleaner hearts. And honestly, it was very tidily done.
Waffles Please
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2-year-old son Archie might have a favorite dessert, but they’re keeping that private. We do know that he has one favorite sweet, however; waffles. Queen Elizabeth sent her great-grandson a waffle maker for Christmas in 2020, Prince Harry told James Corden in an interview, because he’s such a big fan of the sweet breakfast treat.
