Cook Like A Queen With These 7 Royal Recipes

Fancy dining like royalty? Here we bring you seven recipes with the royal seal of approval, from the mac and cheese Prince Harry and Prince William would eat as children to the late Queen Elizabeth’s all time favourite cocktail. Featuring insider tips from Buckingham Palace chefs, these royal recipes are fit for a King – and, spoiler alert, some are more down-to-earth than you might imagine.

7 Royal Recipes To Try Now

King Charles III’s Cheesy Baked Eggs

 

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The King famously loves eggs – rumour has it he has one boiled egg every day. But when he’s in the mood for something a bit more filling, cheese is thrown into the mix. This recipe was released back in 2020 on behalf of the King to mark the British Cheese Weekender, an online festival centred around British cheese.

Ingredients:

• 100g wilted spinach
• 1 cherry tomato or sundried tomatoes
• 35g strong soft cheese (e.g. Tunworth, Golden Cenarth or other strong soft cheese)
• 1 egg
• 80ml double cream
• 15g grated hard cheese (e.g. Old Winchester)
• Fresh basil leaves – torn
• Charcuterie (optional)

Method:

1. Butter a small ovenproof dish and line with wilted spinach, making a small well in the centre. Place the cherry tomato (quartered) or the sundried tomato (chopped) on top of the spinach.
2. Dot the soft cheese around the dish amongst the tomatoes. Add the torn basil leaves and the optional charcuterie. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Crack the egg into the centre of the spinach.
4. Pour the double cream over the egg – avoid breaking the yolk. Sprinkle with grated hard cheese.
5. Place in a hot oven (180C) for 8-10 minutes. Let it stand for a few minutes before eating.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Dubonnet and Gin Cocktail

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What was the Queen’s drink of choice? Elizabeth II was known to love a Dubonnet, a French drink that combines fortified wine with herbs and spices – so much so that she granted it a Royal Warrant in 2021. Her favourite way to enjoy it was with gin and lemon; you can try it yourself with the recipe below.

Ingredients:

• 1oz gin (Gordon’s)
• 2oz Dubonnet
• Half a wheel of lemon
• 2 ice cubes or one large one – dropping the ice cubes in the glass on top of the lemon acted as a mixer

Method:

1. Add the spirits: gin first followed by Dubonnet, then add the half wheel of lemon, making sure it’s pip-free.
2. Add two large chunks of ice carefully placed on top of the lemon to hold it down, just before serving.  
3. The Queen would take hers in a small wine glass. At royal events cocktails were offered on a silver salver; only one gin and Dubonnet cocktail was prepared, and when the tray was offered everyone knew not to touch that one.

Kate Middleton’s Chutney

Ahead of her first Christmas at Sandringham, Kate Middleton was struggling to decide what to get the Queen as a present (a tricky one). But then she had a brainwave: something homemade and meaningful. ‘I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents,’ she said, in a documentary made in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday. ‘And I thought, “I’ll make her something,” which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny’s recipe of chutney.’ The chutney in question is made with marrow (made from squash, rather than the bone variety).

Makes 8 jars

Ingredients:

• 1.8 kg marrows, peeled, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
• 4 medium onions, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks
• 225 g sultanas or raisins
• 225 g stoned dates, roughly chopped
• 600 ml malt vinegar
• 900 g soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices, secured in a piece of muslin

Method:

1. Put the chopped marrow, onions and apples into a large preserving pan, add the rest of the ingredients and the bag of spices and stir together, then place over a medium heat.
2. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently from 1 ½-2 hours or until well blended and thick. Take the pan off the heat, cool and remove the muslin, squeezing the liquid form from the bag.
3. Spoon it into sterilized jars with vinegar-proof lids, filling them to within 1cm of the top.
4. Ensure the rims are clean, screw on the sterilized lids and store in a cool place for up to 12 months. Once open, store in the fridge and use within 1 month.

William and Kate’s Wedding Cake

Photograph: Lisa Linder © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Hosting a dinner party and keen to impress? Wow your guests with this chocolate biscuit cake – famous for being one of two cakes made to celebrate the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales back in 2011. It’s made with chocolate and biscuits, with a shiny chocolate covering – and it requires no baking.

Ingredients:

• 225g Rich Tea biscuits
• 115g softened unsalted butter
• 115g unrefined caster sugar
• 115g chopped dark chocolate (minimum 53% cocoa solids)
• 2 tablespoons warm water

For the chocolate ganache

• 125g dark chocolate, chopped
• 125g whipping cream
• Equipment
• 15cm metal cake ring

Method:

1. Prepare the metal cake ring by greasing with butter and lining the sides and the bottom with baking paper. Place the lined ring on to a flat tray and leave to one side until required.
2. Break the biscuits into small pieces, around 1–2cm in size. Do not place into a processor – the biscuits should not become crumbs.
3. Place the softened butter and the sugar into a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy.
4. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or over a simmering saucepan of water.
5. Once melted, pour the chocolate on to the butter and sugar and mix thoroughly.
6. Finally, add the water and then the broken biscuit pieces. Stir well to make sure that all the biscuit pieces are coated with the chocolate mix.
7. Place the mixture into the lined cake ring and carefully but firmly push it down to create an even texture. Place the cake into the fridge to chill until the chocolate becomes firm. This could take up to 30 minutes.

For the chocolate ganache

1. To prepare the ganache for the cake covering, place the chopped chocolate into a bowl and pour the whipping cream into a saucepan.
2. Bring the cream to a simmer and then pour over the chopped chocolate. Carefully stir until the chocolate has completely melted and the ganache is smoothly blended.
3. Remove the chocolate biscuit cake from the fridge and from the cake ring. Place on to a wire rack with a tray beneath to collect the excess ganache.
4. Carefully coat the chocolate biscuit cake with the warm ganache, making sure that all of the cake is evenly coated. Allow to set fully before moving to your service plate and decorating as desired.

Recipe from the Royal Collection Trust

Queen Elizabeth II’s Drop Scones

While Queen Elizabeth was known for enjoying a simple breakfast of Special K and a cup of tea, when she was in the mood for something more decadent she was partial to a pancake or two. Not any pancake though: Scotch style, also known as drop scones, topped with butter, jam or maple syrup. According to the Royal Collection Trust, the recipe below was sent by the Queen to President Eisenhower in 1960.

Ingredients:

• 1 free-range egg
• 2 tablespoons unrefined caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
• 250ml full-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 240g plain flour
• 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons cream of tartar (in the US you can substitute baking powder for both the cream of tartar and the bicarbonate of soda)
• 100g clarified unsalted butter

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl sieve together the dry ingredients: flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and sugar. Add to this the milk and egg and whisk to a smooth batter, finally adding the warm melted butter. Pass through a sieve to get rid of any lumps and if necessary thin with more milk. The batter should have a dropping consistency, but remain thick enough to retain its shape on the griddle.
2. Heat the griddle (or frying pan) over a medium heat and grease with clarified butter. Using a dessert spoon or small ladle, carefully pour spoonfuls of the batter on to the griddle. After one side has cooked, flip the scones with a palette knife to cook the other. Once you feel more confident you can cook a few scones at a time, being careful not to let them over-cook on either side.
3. Serve warm with butter and home-made preserves.

Recipe from the Royal Collection Trust

Coronation Quiche

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First we had coronation chicken, now quiche is getting the royal treatment. For King Charles III’s coronation this year, the monarch specially selected a vegetarian quiche recipe, created by royal chef Mark Flanagan. Described as a ‘deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon’, Flanagan recommends we enjoy it with green salad and new potatoes.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Pastry

• 125g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 25g cold butter, diced
• 25g lard
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Or 1 x 250g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry

Filling

• 125ml milk
• 175ml double cream
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• Salt and pepper
• 100g grated cheddar cheese
• 180g cooked spinach, lightly chopped
• 60g cooked broad beans or soya beans

Method:

To make the pastry…

1. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl; add the fats and rub the mixture together using your finger tips until you get a sandy, breadcrumb like texture.
2. Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough.
3. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes

To make the quiche…

1. Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a little larger than the top of the tin and approximately 5mm thick.
2. Line the tin with the pastry, taking care not to have any holes or the mixture could leak. Cover and rest for a further 30 minutes in the fridge.
3. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
4. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
6. Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning.
7. Scatter 1/2 of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, top with the chopped spinach and beans and herbs, then pour over the liquid mixture.
8. If required gently give the mixture a delicate stir to ensure the filling is evenly dispersed but be careful not to damage the pastry case.
9. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly golden.

Recipe from the Royal Collection Trust

Prince Harry and Prince William’s Crispy Chicken and Mac and Cheese

According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, Prince William and Prince Harry were big fans of mac and cheese while growing up, served with crispy chicken. McGrady revealed the recipe in a YouTube video, in which he explains: ‘all you need for a perfect roast chicken is chicken thighs, and season them with salt’.

Then, for the mac and cheese: ‘It’s so easy to make from home, all you need to put in there is butter, flour, milk, cream, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and salt.’

For the full tutorial, use the video below.