Former Chef To The Queen Dishes Out Recipe To Her Favorite Treat

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Former Chef To The Queen Dishes Out Recipe To Her Favorite Treat

We all have things we can't leave behind when we travel far from home. For some of us it's a comfortable pair of shoes or digital camera. For others it's a favorite snack that may be hard to find anywhere else.  

Turns out when it comes to travelling even royals aren't all that different from us.

People.com

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Darren McGrady, Queen Elizabeth II's former personal chef revealed some surprising information about a snack Her Majesty can't be without: Chocolate biscuit cake.

The cake is a regular feature on the Buckingham Palace menu and the Queen loves it so much that a senior chef will bring it along on trips across the UK and around the world.  

"Now the chocolate biscuit cake is the only cake that goes back [to the queen] again and again and again every day until it's all gone," McGrady said. "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."

Darren McGrady

However, the Queen does have to share the cake with some of the members of the royal family because both Prince William and Prince Harry are fond of the chocolatey treat. Former royal chef, Carolyn Robb told You Magazine that "It was a firm favourite in the royal nursery; so much so that, many years later, Prince William chose to have chocolate biscuit cake at his wedding for the groom's cake."

Luckily, Chef McGrady shared his recipe so you too could get a taste of the chocolate cake.

It has the attention of almost all the royal family, so this cake must be heavenly. Want to eat like a king or queen? Then all you have to do is follow these steps.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Makes one 6 inch round cake -"“ 8 portions

Ingredients:

4 ounces dark chocolate (for the cake)

4 ounces granulated sugar4 ounces unsalted butter (softened)

1 egg

8 ounces Rich tea biscuits

1/2 teaspoon butter for greasing

8 ounces dark chocolate (for coating)

1 ounce chocolate (for decoration)

Directions:

1. Lightly grease a 6 inch by 2 1/2 inch cake ring and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.

2. Break each of the biscuits into almond size pieces by hand and set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture starts to lighten.

4. Melt the 4 ounces of chocolate and add to the butter mixture whilst constantly stirring.

5. Beat in the egg to the mixture.

6. Fold in the biscuit pieces until they are all coated with the chocolate mixture.

7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake ring. Try to fill all of the gaps on the bottom of the ring because this will be the top when it is un-molded.

8. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

9. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand while you melt the 8 ounces of chocolate.

10. Slide the ring off the cake and turn it upside down onto a cake wire.

11. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides using a palette knife.

12. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.

13. Carefully run a knife around the bottom of the cake where the chocolate has stuck it to the cake wire and lift it onto a tea plate.

14. Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and use to decorate the top of the cake.

If you're interested in more recipes fit for royalty, you can grab a copy of Chef McGrady's Eating Royalty recipe book  here.

Blair isn't a bestselling author, but she has a knack for beautiful prose. When she isn't writing for Shared, she enjoys listening to podcasts.