The late Queen Elizabeth II had a strict rule when it came to birthday cakes as she celebrated the occasion in a royally unique way every year before her death, aged 96.
Born on 21 April 1926, Britain's longest-reigning monarch had two birthday parties a year, one marking her actual day of birth, and a second dubbed her official birthday on the second Saturday in June, known as Trooping the Colour.
As per tradition, which dates back to King George's reign in 1748, monarchs enjoy two birthdays after the former king decided a party in November, the month of his actual birth, would be too cold and moved his celebrations to the second weekend of the summer month.
The late Queen's former chef, Darren McGrady, revealed how King Charles' mother used to spend her birthdays every year and explained that it was usually a "quiet weekend" in April, as opposed to the parade held on her June birthday.
Darren added that one of the most important details about the late Queen's birthday was her love for chocolate cake. He said: "Every year, it's the same cake, the same recipe, the Queen's chocolate birthday cake."
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesA cake fit for many queens
Aside from her love for chocolate, the late Queen's cake meant more to her than just a delicious treat. It was made via a generational recipe started by her grandmother, Queen Mary.
Darren shared: "I spent 11 years racking pans in the royal kitchen, and I can't tell you how many times I made the chocolate birthday cake, twice a year."
He referenced the recipe that was passed down from the royal bloodline and said: "It's the same recipe that I used while I was at the palace, passed down from the queen's chef, to the king's chef, to the queen's chef.
"A light chocolate genoise sponge, layered with creamy dark chocolate ganache and then enrobed in even more chocolate - chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!"
Darren shared a secret and added that the birthday cake was always made slightly larger than the size of an average cake. He said she would only "take a little slice" for her birthday and was "very disciplined" about it before sending it back to the kitchen.
"The next day, it would go up again, and another slice, and the next day, another slice," the chef revealed about the late Queen's snacking habits around her special day.
She then would order that it be sliced up and sent into the staff kitchen for everyone to enjoy, as "nothing was wasted at Buckingham Palace," according to the former royal chef.
Darren previously told Best Quality Designer Handbag about the Queen's penchant for the sweet stuff. He said: "She is absolutely a chocoholic. Anything we put on the menu that had chocolate on, she would choose, especially chocolate perfection pie."
