Royal recipes: How to make the Queen's favourite dishes

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the recipes.
[Photo: Royal Collections Trust]

Ingredients:
1 free-range egg
2 tablespoons unrefined caster sugar
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
250ml (1 cup) full-fat milk
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
240g (17/8 cups) plain flour
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons cream of tartar
100g (½ cup) clarified unsalted butter

Equipment:
pancake griddle, or non-stick frying pan

1. In a mixing bowl, sieve together the dry ingredients: flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and sugar. Add to this the milk and egg and whisk to a smooth batter, finally adding the warm melted butter. Pass through a sieve to get rid of any lumps and if necessary thin with more milk. The batter should have a dropping consistency, but remain thick enough to retain its shape on the griddle.

2. Heat the griddle (or frying pan) over a medium heat and grease with clarified butter. Using a dessert spoon or small ladle, carefully pour spoonfuls of the batter on to the griddle. After one side has cooked, flip the scones with a palette knife to cook the other. Once you feel more confident you can cook a few scones at a time, being careful not to let them over-cook on either side.

3. Serve warm with butter and home-made preserves.

[Photo: Royal Collections Trust]

Serves 4–6.

For the pastry:
125g (1 cup) plain flour
a pinch of salt
25g (1/8 cup) cold butter, diced
25g (1/8 cup) lard
2 tablespoons milk
(Or use 1 × 250g block of ready-made
shortcrust pastry)

For the filling:
75ml (1/3 cup) milk
75ml (1/3 cup) double cream
2 medium free-range eggs
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
salt and pepper
50g (½ cup) cheddar cheese, grated
100g (¾ cup) poached salmon, flaked
60g (1/3 cup) cooked and shelled
broad beans or soya beans

Equipment: 20 cm/8″ flan tin

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5).

2. To make the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, add the fats
and rub the mixture through your fingertips until you get a sandy,
breadcrumb-like texture. Add the milk a little at a time and bring the
ingredients together into a dough. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for
30–45 minutes.

3. Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the pastry to make a circle a
little larger than the top of your flan tin and approximately 0.5 cm thick.
Line the tin with the pastry, taking care not to make any holes in it or the
filling will leak. Cover and rest for a further 30 minutes in the fridge.

4. Line the pastry case with baking paper, add baking beans and bake
blind for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the baking
paper and beans.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.

6. Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning. Scatter half of the grated cheese in the blind-baked pastry case, top with the flaked salmon and beans, and then pour over the milk-and-egg mix. If required, give the filling a gentle stir to ensure it is is evenly dispersed, but again be careful not to damage the pastry case. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes until set and lightly golden.

[Photo: Royal Collections Trust]

Ingredients:
2 small free-range eggs
105g (½ cup) dark brown sugar
105g (½ cup) soft brown sugar
150g (11/8 cups) wholemeal flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
35g (1/8 cup) sour cream
105g (3/8 cup) sunflower oil
180g (3 cups) carrots, grated
45g (½ cup) desiccated coconut
For the cream cheese topping:
110g (½ cup) full-fat soft cream cheese
50g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
50g (1/3 cup) icing sugar
juice of ½ lemon

Equipment:
18 cm/7″ cake tin

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF, gas mark 3).

2. Prepare the cake tin by greasing with butter and lining the bottom and
sides with baking paper. Place the lined tin on to a flat, heavy-duty baking
tray and leave to one side until required.

3. Whisk together the eggs, sugars and sunflower oil in a bowl until
thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt,
bicarbonate of soda and spices. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mix until all ingredients are combined evenly. Finally, fold through the grated
carrots and sour cream.

4. Pour the carrot cake mix into the lined cake tin. Place on the middle
shelf of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched. Once baked, remove from the
oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the cream cheese topping:
5. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the softened butter. Beat well
until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and continue beating until a
smooth consistency is achieved. Finally, slowly add the lemon juice whilst
still mixing.

To assemble the carrot cake:
6. Once completely cool, remove the carrot cake from the cake tin and
place on your desired serving plate or cake stand. Using a palette knife, carefully smooth the cream cheese topping evenly across the top of the cake.

[Photo: Royal Collections Trust]

For the Victoria sponge:
3 free-range eggs
150g (¾ cup) unrefined caster sugar
150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
150g (1¼ cups) self-raising flour, sieved
½ teaspoon of vanilla essence

For the vanilla buttercream:
150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
220g (1¾ cups) icing sugar, sieved
1/3 split vanilla pod

And strawberry jam

Equipment:
2 × 20 cm/8″ Victoria sponge cake tins

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF, gas mark 4).

2. Prepare the cake tins by greasing with butter and lining the bottom with a circular piece of baking paper. Leave to one side until required.

3. Cream together the caster sugar, vanilla essence and softened butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time to avoid the mixture curdling. Finally, fold through the sieved flour until all the ingredients are perfectly combined.

4. Divide the cake mix evenly between the two prepared cake tins and carefully smooth the mix to create two level layers. Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the cake appears golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before turning the cakes out on to a wire rack.

To make the buttercream:
5. Cream the softened butter with the sieved icing sugar and the seeds from the split vanilla pod. The buttercream will become pale and fluffy with little flecks of vanilla seeds throughout.

To assemble the Victoria sponge:
6. Once the cakes have completely cooled, carefully and evenly spread a layer of buttercream on to the top of the first cake. Next add a thick layer of your home-made jam, before carefully placing the second cake on top of the jam and very gently pressing down. Finally, dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.

7. Serve with a pot of tea!

[Photo: Royal Collections Trust]