Have you ever wondered how the Queen celebrates her birthday? Well, to mark the monarch turning 94 on April 21 — the royal pastry chefs have revealed their recipe for chocolate cupcakes, which are believed to be a firm favourite of the Her Majesty’s!

The official royal family Instagram account shared photographs of the chocolatey sweet treats, complete with pretty pink roses and gold crowns, alongside the recipe.

“Happy birthday to Her Majesty! To celebrate the Queen’s birthday we are sharing a chocolate cupcake recipe from The Royal Pastry Chefs,” the caption read. “If you or a loved one are celebrating a special occasion during isolation why not treat yourself to some #RoyalBakes? Remember to share your creations with us!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_PstbZnaF2/

While the cupcakes on the royal family’s Instagram page are finished with royal icing, the recipe can be tweaked to use buttercream instead. However, if you do choose to use royal icing, many supermarkets sell pre-made versions — just add a little bit of food colouring to change the colour! So if you know of someone who is celebrating their birthday or another special occasion in isolation, why not give these delicious cupcakes a go?

The Queen’s chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake sponge

• 15g vinegar
• 300ml milk
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 60g butter (melted and cool)
• 2 eggs
• 5ml of vanilla essence
• 250g of self-raising flour
• 75g 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

Method

Cake sponge method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk the eggs in a separate jug, with the vanilla essence, melted butter, oil, milk, and vinegar.
4. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, little by little.
5. Ensure the batter is smooth with no lumps.
6. Finally, add the chocolate chips (alternatives could be nuts or dried fruit).
7. Lay the cupcake cases onto a tray.
8. Use a metal spoon to equally divide the mixture into the cases.
9. Bake for around 15 to 18 minutes, take out of the oven when golden and springy on touch.
10. Leave to cool.

Buttercream icing method

1. Cream the sugar and butter together, until light and creamy.
2. Add in the warm melted chocolate.
3. If you have a piping bag on hand, pipe the icing on the top of cakes for decoration, otherwise gently use a teaspoon or small spatula to ice.

Royal icing method

1. If decorating with royal icing, roll the icing out and cut into circular disc.
2. Lay the disc over the cupcake and mould to the required shape.