The queen is a creature of habit! According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, the reigning British monarch has the same chocolate cake to celebrate her birthday every single year — and it’s her “favorite.”
The culinary pro, 58, explained that the recipe for this chocolate creation has actually been in the royal family for more than 100 years and dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria.
“The queen is a chocoholic. She loves chocolate,” McGrady said of the 93-year-old royal in a YouTube video published by Delish recently. “Anything on the menu that we used to prepare at the palace that had chocolate in, she’d always approve and it would go to the royal table.”
He added: “The chocolate birthday cake is a cake that the queen has every year for her birthday — the chocolate genoise birthday cake with a ganache all over the top and through the center — everyone had the same recipe. Everyone had the same cake.”
The former Buckingham palace employee was the personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Princess Diana, and Princes William and Harry for 15 years.
While McGrady noted that the beloved cake was prepared for every member of the royal family’s birthday, the queen apparently had a special fondness for it and would eat it one small slice at a time over the course of several days. In fact, McGrady even suspects the royal will have this very dessert on April 21 — her 94th birthday.
Additionally, this treat was also very similar to the confection Prince William, 37, had as his groom’s cake at his 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton.
Other royals, however, prefer different confections, per McGrady. “William and Harry, when I cooked for them as young boys, they liked the caramel and banana cake,” he said. “And of course Kate loved the sticky toffee pudding.”
Still, it’s clear McGrrady has a sweet spot for Queen Elizabeth’s cake of choice. “Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate,” he exclaimed as he sliced into the finished product. “It smells so good!”
