Kate Middleton's Favorite Dessert Is An Old Royal Family Hit, Says Palace Chef
When you picture the British royal family’s dinner table, what do you see? We can't help but skip to dessert! When we imagine the royals sitting down to an elaborate meal, we picture a table filled with fancy cakes, cookies, sweet pies, and pastries. In other words, as many decadent, delectable desserts as possible. This may all sound like something from out of a fairytale, but there just may be an element of truth to it. The royals have revealed their favorite desserts, and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ choice is particularly surprising.
The royals' favorite desserts
Everyone has a sweet tooth — even the royal family! Despite their seemingly perfect exteriors, the royals, including Prince William and his wife, Kate, love to chow down on some sweets every now and then. William and his brother, Prince Harry, for example, often have a hankering for bananas, according to former chef to the royals, Darren McGrady. In addition to banana caramel cake — bananas are thought to be Harry’s favorite fruit — the boys were once huge fans of McGrady’s homemade banana flan. The cook recalls a touching story about the young princes when they had seen that banana flan was on the menu.
A sweet memory
"Whenever the boys were home, Princess Diana would write banana flan in the menu book. And then she’d write H or W on the top to let me know who was coming. The boys would come back from school on a Friday to Kensington Palace and come in the kitchen," McGrady said. "They’d see the banana flan on the side and say, 'Yes!'" When I started as a chef at Buckingham Palace, I thought I’d be cooking fois gras and caviar and smoked salmon; all those rich foods. I didn’t realize that I’d be cooking for the children, too!"
Hungry Harry’s habitual pleasure
Bananas aside, Harry has always had a sweet tooth, just like his grandmother. As a kid, he would occasionally go into the kitchens and request a golden treacle tart from the chefs. Former royal cook Carolyn Robb also revealed to British newspaper The Sunday Times that Harry had once brought a message from Diana that read "Mummy said it’s okay!" ahead of eating the sugary treat. Years later, the recipe for Harry’s favorite treat was revealed. You'll need golden syrup, white breadcrumbs, and lemon zest to make the treacle. Oven-bake the mixture within the pastry for 15 minutes, cool, and enjoy!
Diana’s delectable dessert
And yes, Diana also had a favorite dessert, according to McGrady: Di was a big fan of humble British dish bread and butter pudding. Apparently, the then-Princess of Wales was fond of entering the royal kitchen and picking raisins off of the pudding as she and McGrady talked. And you can chow down just like the People's Princess if you want. McGrady shared the exact recipe in his book, Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen. You’ll need raisins, a quarter of a cup of Amaretto, 12 slices of white bread, nine egg yolks, toasted almonds, and some sugar.
