King Charles has continued his late mother Queen Eliabeth's tradition of spending the summer at the Scottish royal residence, Balmoral Castle, so he has likely also kept some of her favourite dishes on the menu.
One of those was a fluorescent green sweet treat known as Crathie Cruch – named for the little village near the castle. "The Queen was given the recipe at a Crathie estate fair… we tried it out and it became so popular it would always be on the menu at Balmoral Castle," revealed former royal chef Darren McGrady in his latest YouTube video.
© RexDark chocolate and mint were two of the late monarch's "guilty pleasures", and this dessert combined them into what he described as a cheesecake without the cheese!
"Layers of chocolate biscuit and fluffy mint, whipped cream and chocolate mints on the top," explained the chef, who worked for the Queen, Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry collectively for fifteen years.
The bold green colour comes from the Crème de menthe, which was used to create the mousse alongside eggs (with the yolks and whites added separately), gelatine and sugar. Chocolate digestive biscuits made up the base, while crumbled Aero chocolate was sprinkled across the top.
It became a staple dessert for royal picnics and BBQs at Balmoral, as well as "wherever they were in the world too," according to Darren.
Balmoral was known for being the late Queen's favourite place on Earth, and Darren previously revealed she enjoyed low-key outings behind closed doors.
He told Piers Morgan on TalkTV: "When you think about the Queen, you might think about her eating off the gold and the silver at state banquets, but she was just as happy taking a Tupperware container of sandwiches and fruit and going up into one of the lodges on the state of Balmoral where she'd have a picnic on her own."
So perhaps a slice of the chocolate and mint dessert was also a regular in the takeaway containers!
Royals and chocolate
© GettyWhile King Charles may not necessarily have the same sweet tooth as his mother, he would likely be happy to offer desserts to family members such as Prince William and his three kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis who love decadent chocolate.
Speaking to HELLO!, Graham Tinsley MBE, former manager of the Welsh Culinary Team, discussed some of the monarch's culinary preferences.
"[King] Charles doesn't like chocolate, he doesn't like coffee, nor does he like garlic. So we do have to consider these things when we're creating a menu for him," explained Graham.
© GettyHowever, William loves chocolate so much that he made sure it featured in his wedding cake with the Princess of Wales in 2011! The Prince developed a fondness for a very specific recipe that he picked up from his grandmother during his choldhood – chocolate biscuit cake.
Darren told HELLO!: "When Prince William first tried it, he loved it and then requested it as his groom's cake."
© GettyWilliam and Kate also previously joked that there are plenty of sweet treats for their three kids at Easter. During a video call to schoolchildren in April 2020, William said: "There will be a lot of chocolate being eaten here, don't worry!" and his wife Kate quickly retorted: "You keep eating it!"
With that in mind, we wonder if it was on the menu when the Waleses visited Charles and Camilla at Balmoral in the summer holidays.
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