Queen Elizabeth's Chefs Just Shared Her Fave Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe

Queen Elizabeth turned 94 today (happy birthday, Your Majesty!) and although her public birthday celebrations have been cancelled, that doesn't mean there won't be a party rocking Buckingham Palace tonight. OK, maybe not. But at the very least there will be cake, and we have the exact recipe thanks to QEII's generous team of pastry chefs.

Buckingham Palace and The Royal Pastry Chefs revealed the delicious birthday recipe on Twitter, Instagram and the royal website, perhaps inspired by the baking craze launched by stay at home orders and the COVID-19 crisis. And while we weren't surprised by the simple combination of chocolate cake with buttercream frosting (we wouldn't expect to see an elaborate or complex dessert from the woman who pours her own Special K cereal for breakfast every morning), we were surprised to see that this year the birthday treat is being served in the form of cupcakes.

Queen Elizabeth has been enjoying this exact birthday recipe for a long time, though not always in cupcake form. In fact, in a YouTube video for the channel Delish, the queen's former chef Darren McGrady recently revealed that this is the recipe used to celebrate not just the queen's but every member of the royal family's birthdays. The only rule? No names on cakes, just a simple 'Happy Birthday.'

If you want to make some royal-approved cupcakes of your own you can find the recipe below. And best of luck on those intricate decorations.

Ingredients for the cake sponges:
15g vinegar
300ml milk
50ml vegetable oil
60g melted butter
2 eggs
5ml of vanilla essence (aka vanilla extract)
250g self-raising flour
75g cocoa powder
300g caster sugar
10g bicarbonate of soda (aka baking soda)
100g white chocolate chips

Ingredients for the buttercream topping:
90g high percentage dark chocolate
100g butter
125g icing sugar

To make the cake sponges:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 150 C (or 302°F). Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking soda in a large bowl.

Step 2: Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted and cooled butter, oil, milk and vinegar.

Step 3: Slowly mix the wet ingredient into the dry, working little by little. Make sure to smooth out any lumps.

Step 4: Add the chocolate chips.

Step 5: Pour the batter into a cupcake baking sheet.

Step 6: Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Leave to cool.

To make the buttercream topping:

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.

Step 2: Add in the warm melted chocolate.

Step 3: Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a piping bag of small spatula to decorate the cupcakes with buttercream.

And there you have it—a birthday treat fit for a queen. And quarantine baking fiends.