I tried a chocolate cupcake recipe from Queen Elizabeth's pastry chefs and it resulted in a royal baking fail

Talia LakritzMay 1, 2020, 22:23 IST

Nailed it.Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

Queen Elizabeth's royal pastry chefs shared a chocolate cupcake recipe from the palace kitchens in honor of her 94th birthday.
I tried making the cupcakes, but some important details about the ingredients got lost in translation.
After the first batch came out crumbly and deflated, we discovered that British "self-raising flour" and American "self-rising flour" aren't the same thing.
We tried the recipe again with a few tweaks, and the cupcakes came out perfectly.
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Queen Elizabeth is known for having a sweet tooth — especially for chocolate.

Darren McGrady, who worked as a personal chef for the royal family for 15 years, previously told Insider that the Queen loves chocolate and takes a slice of chocolate biscuit cake with her when she travels.

In honor of her 94th birthday on April 21, royal pastry chefs shared a recipe for chocolate cupcakes from the palace kitchen.

Since everyone seems to be baking to pass the time while social distancing, I decided to give the recipe a try with some help from my family.

Read the original article on Insider

It's amazing the difference a few small tweaks can make.

Both sets of cupcakes. The second batch is on the left. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

We decorated the second batch of cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

Decorating the cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

The cupcakes also held their shape when we took them out of the tins.

These cupcakes came out well. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

The second time around, the cupcakes came out perfectly.

Success! Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

We also preheated the oven to a standard 350 degrees instead of the 302 as the recipe instructed.

Filling the cupcake tins with the improved batter. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

To prevent the white chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom again, we coated them in flour — a trick another one of my sisters picked up from watching Ina Garten on the Food Network.

White chocolate chips. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

To prevent the white chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom again, we coated them in flour — a trick another one of my sisters picked up from watching Ina Garten on the Food Network.

I was ready to admit defeat, but one of my sisters insisted on trying the recipe again and incorporating our newfound information.

Take two. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

As we retraced our steps, we realized that a few important details about the ingredients got lost in translation.

The ugly cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

It didn't help much.

The finished cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

We tried to salvage the cupcakes by frosting them with the royal pastry chefs' buttercream icing recipe and decorating them with sprinkles.

Decorating the cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

My family agreed that even though they tasted fine, something had clearly gone wrong.

My brother tries a cupcake. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

Despite their disfigurements, they tasted delicious.

Trying the cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

The chocolate chips had also sunk to the bottom of the cupcakes.

The white chocolate chips sank. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

Our fears were confirmed when we took them out of the oven.

The finished cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

As they were baking, something didn't look right.

The cupcakes in the oven. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

After adding the white chocolate chips, he spooned the batter into cupcake tins.

Making cupcakes. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

My nephew, who loves baking, helped combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones.

Mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

We started by measuring out the dry ingredients.

The dry ingredients in a bowl. Courtesy of Saraleah Lakritz

The royal family posted the cupcake recipe on social media, along with pictures of the finished product.

Cupcakes fit for a queen. theroyalfamily/Instagram

I made 4 whipped drinks at home including dalgona coffee and ranked them all from worst to best

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

I tried a chocolate cupcake recipe from Queen Elizabeth's pastry chefs and it resulted in a royal baking fail

It's amazing the difference a few small tweaks can make.

We decorated the second batch of cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

The cupcakes also held their shape when we took them out of the tins.

The second time around, the cupcakes came out perfectly.

We also preheated the oven to a standard 350 degrees instead of the 302 as the recipe instructed.

To prevent the white chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom again, we coated them in flour — a trick another one of my sisters picked up from watching Ina Garten on the Food Network.

I was ready to admit defeat, but one of my sisters insisted on trying the recipe again and incorporating our newfound information.

As we retraced our steps, we realized that a few important details about the ingredients got lost in translation.

It didn't help much.

We tried to salvage the cupcakes by frosting them with the royal pastry chefs' buttercream icing recipe and decorating them with sprinkles.

My family agreed that even though they tasted fine, something had clearly gone wrong.

Despite their disfigurements, they tasted delicious.

The chocolate chips had also sunk to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Our fears were confirmed when we took them out of the oven.

As they were baking, something didn't look right.

After adding the white chocolate chips, he spooned the batter into cupcake tins.

My nephew, who loves baking, helped combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones.

We started by measuring out the dry ingredients.

The royal family posted the cupcake recipe on social media, along with pictures of the finished product.