Queen Elizabeth turned 94 yesterday.

Back in 2016, her former royal chef Darren McGrady said that the monarch "isn't interested in trying new things and wouldn't fit the bill of an adventurous eater. Her Majesty prefers traditional British and French cuisine and has a particular soft spot for chocolate".

I can relate.

"She is absolutely a chocoholic," said Darren. "Anything we put on the menu that had chocolate on, she would choose, especially chocolate perfection pie."

If you need any encouragement to start baking, Royal Pastry Chef's have shared a recipe for the delicious cupcakes the Queen indulged in for her birthday.

he Instagram post read: 'Happy birthday to Her Majesty! To celebrate The Queen's birthday we are sharing a chocolate cupcake recipe from The Royal Pastry Chefs.

Bakers were encouraged to try their hand at making the treats themselves and share images using the hashtag #RoyalBakes. Fans of the Queen were quick to get to the oven and some creations have already made their way social media.

The Queen's Chocolate Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

Cake sponge (serves approximately 15)

• 15g vinegar
• 300ml milk
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 60g butter (melted and cool)
• 2 eggs
• 5ml of vanilla essence
• 250g of self-raising flour
• 75 of cocoa powder
• 300g caster sugar
• 10g bicarbonate of soda
• 100g white chocolate chips
• cupcake cases

Buttercream icing

• 90g of high percentage dark chocolate
• 100g butter
• 125g icing sugar

Royal icing, instead of buttercream

• Add food colouring to pre-made royal icing to create different colours

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 150 C
• Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl
• Whisk the eggs in a separate jug, with the vanilla essence, melted butter, oil, milk and vinegar
• Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, little by little. Ensure the batter is smooth with no lumps. Finally, add the chocolate chips (alternatives could be nuts, dried fruit)
• Lay the cupcake cases onto a tray. Divide the mixture into the cases and bake for around 15-18 minutes

Buttercream icing

• Cream the sugar and butter together, until light and creamy. Add in the warm melted chocolate
• Pipe the icing on the top of cakes for decoration, or gently use a teaspoon or small spatula to ice

Royal icing

• Roll the icing out and cut into circular disks
• Lay the disc over the cupcake and mould to the required shape

Eat and enjoy!