I made banana bread using the Queen and Meghan Markle's recipes, and the duchess' version with chocolate and ginger was far superior

Mikhaila FrielNov 14, 2020, 16:52 IST

I made the Queen and the Duchess of Sussex's banana bread recipes, and the duchess' was my favorite.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images, Mikhaila Friel/Insider

I made banana bread using two recipes which have been favored by the Queen and Meghan Markle.
The monarch's recipe — provided by former royal chef Darren McGrady — featured cherries, walnuts, and raisins.
In my opinion, it would have been even better without the cherries, which seemed to overpower the banana flavor.
Markle's recipe included chocolate and ginger, which complimented the banana perfectly.

The Queen's former chef Darren McGrady shared the recipe for Her Majesty's banana bread recipe back in October.

The recipe, featuring cherries, walnuts, and raisins instantly struck me as unusual, as these ingredients are what you would usually find in a traditional fruit cake rather than banana bread.

But then, the royals are known for doing things differently when it comes to food. I remembered reading about the Duchess of Sussex's banana bread recipe, which she served at a royal engagement during her tour of Australia in 2018.

Her secret ingredients included chocolate chips and ginger, according to a royal correspondent who was at the event.

The Queen and Markle's recipes seemed completely different, so I decided to make them both and compare.

I decided to make the Queen's banana bread first, using former royal chef Darren McGrady's recipe.

I gathered my ingredients. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

I rubbed the butter, flour, and salt together before adding in the sugar, walnuts, raisins, and cherries.

There seemed to be an extraordinary amount of raisins. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

The recipe instructs you to use 1 pound of mashed bananas. I ended up using three bananas, which was just slightly less than that measurement.

Mixing all the ingredients together. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

The final step was to pour the mixture into a loaf container and place it in the oven.

The final step. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

While the recipe says to bake the banana bread for 45 minutes, mine wasn't ready until it had been in the oven for an hour.

The Queen's banana bread. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

Two weeks later, I tried Meghan Markle's version using her secret ingredients.

Markle makes her banana bread with chocolate chips and ginger. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

I started by mixing together the dry ingredients, and then added the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream.

I mixed the dry ingredients separately before combining with the wet ingredients. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

Then it was time to add the chocolate chips and ginger.

It was time for the signature ingredients. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

The banana bread was ready after 45 minutes in the oven.

The final product. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

Overall, I preferred Markle's recipe as the chocolate and ginger complimented the banana flavor.

A slice of Markle's banana bread. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

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