Royal Chefs Share Queen Elizabeth-Themed Cupcakes for Her Birthday

Have you ever seen anything cuter?

Queen Elizabeth cutting a cake.
(Image credit: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
  • To celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 94th birthday, The Royal Family shared something special with us on social media.
  • The cupcake recipe comes from The Royal Pastry Chefs and is chocolate, likely in honor of the Queen's favorite dessert flavor.
  • Here's the full history on the Queen's normal birthday celebrations, although much of that has been cancelled this year.

It's a glorious day today, as Queen Elizabeth turns 94 (looking healthy as ever, by the way, if her recent national address is any indication). It's a subdued affair this year because of the coronavirus pandemic—the Queen and Prince Philip are holed up in Windsor for the occasion—but that doesn't mean the day doesn't go by without some form of celebration. In addition to the Royal Family sharing rare private video of the Queen as a youngster, more treats were in store for us. In this case I'm talking about literal treats: Chocolate cupcakes, complete with recipe, from The Royal Pastry Chefs. And they're Queen-themed. Yes, it is as cute as you're imagining.

The full recipe is here, and what's great is that they give you options for buttercream and royal frosting. I mean, you have to go with royal, right? The chefs also provide variations on the recipe, should you want to add different elements to the basic version. It's known that the Queen loves chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, so in my mind this is her fave dessert recipe. The Royal Family Twitter even encouraged us all to make our own creations and tag #royalbakes, which I think may inspire "nailed it" memes (of baking disasters gone horribly wrong) as much as it'll inspire some fabulous creations. 

Oh my God they are so cute. ALSO: I would pay a lot of money to watch the Queen trying to gracefully eat a cupcake (in my experience, it is impossible):

And seriously, someone has ALREADY responded to the thread with cupcakes featuring the Queen's hat. This is not the first time the Royal Family has encouraged us with #royalbakes so I imagine this is a previous creation, but no less amazing for it. Magnificent:

Since group gatherings are still on hold, these glorious confections would make the absolute perfect baking challenge over the weekend.

Guys, let's do it. Let's make some cupcakes and eat them in honor of the Queen.


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Queen Elizabeth as a young adult.

(Image credit: Lisa Sheridan/Getty Images)
Katherine J. Igoe
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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York TimesParentsInStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLEHarper’s BazaarSeventeenGood Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award. 

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeanshow sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.