The Family History Of Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Chocolate Cake

Twice a year, Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a very particular birthday cake: Chocolate birthday cake. The reason for this is because monarchs of England have a tradition of celebrating two birthdays a year, one that is their original birthday and another that is an official birthday held on the second Saturday of every June, per History.com. Former Royal Chef Darren McGrady shared on his YouTube channel that he would always make this chocolate cake for both occasions at the queen's request during the 11 years he spent in the royal kitchens at Buckingham Palace. Although it looks like a regular chocolate cake, the queen's favorite is a chocolate genoise sponge-cake frosted in a dark chocolate ganache. Queen Elizabeth reportedly loved her birthday cake so dearly that she would have a small slice everyday following her birthday celebration, hence its large size. Notably, this birthday cake is not to be confused with the queen's favorite chocolate biscuit cake.

So did former Royal Chef Darren McGrady invent this decadent chocolate birthday cake? Well, it's actually been around for much longer, passed on from chef to chef for generations.

This iconic chocolate birthday cake preceded Queen Elizabeth's reign, and was enjoyed by her grandmother, Queen Mary. Spouse to King George V, Mary of Teck was very popular amongst the people. Many believed her artistic knowledge and shrewdness made her a great partner for the king (via Britannica). 

Mary's favorite cake was this exact chocolate birthday cake. According to Darren McGrady, Queen Mary's chef wrote down the original chocolate cake recipe in the royal cookbook in 1954, which was then passed down to the king's (presumably George VI, i.e. Elizabeth's father) chef and finally to Queen Elizabeth's chef.

Sadly, Queen Mary passed away right before her granddaughter's coronation, but her legacy was felt by those who celebrated Queen Elizabeth's birthdays. Fans of the royal family — or fans of chocolate cake — can recreate the royal's chocolate birthday cake for their own birthday or to commemorate the late queen.