EXCLUSIVE: King Charles' Coronation cake took five months to create, says chef

King Charles III's Coronation is here, after months of planning and preparation. 

The ceremony kicks off on 6 May with the ceremony taking place at London's Westminster Abbey.

Celebrations will continue throughout the day, which will include a Royal Arrow flypast to be viewed by the British monarch from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as well as over the bank holiday weekend. 

But, of course, no celebration is complete without, you guessed it - cake!

pladis Chef, Robert Craggs, is the mastermind behind the Coronation cake, and we have all the details on the sweet treat to be enjoyed by the 74-year-old sovereign, the Queen Consort Camilla, as well as royal guests attending the ceremony. 

Robert exclusively told us the King's cake took a whopping five months to make from design to decoration. 

The baking process took 120 hours, while the experts tasked with decorating the dark fruit cake, which was inspired by a McVitie's archived recipe for previous royal cakes, took a further 160 hours.

The mouth-watering fruit cake spans over four tiers and measures an impressive 1.2 metres tall. 

It has been made using 300 Duchy Organic free-range eggs and is packed with sultanas, raisins, and glacé cherries, which makes a batter weighing 300kg.

The four tiers all taste the same but have been decorated to honour the royal family and history. It's safe to say this cake is a thing of beauty.

The base tier has a matt stone icing to reflect the Stone of Destiny, which is a symbol iconic in royal inaugurations over the years.  

The actual Stone of Destiny will make its way from Edinburgh Castle to Westminster Abbey to be placed beneath the Coronation chair. 

The second tier is engraved with a delicate pattern from the Anointing Spoon, which will be used in the ceremony when holy oil is poured by the archbishop of Canterbury. 

The third layer features a marble stone texture and is embossed with intricate detail inspired by the Coronation Chair - also known as King Edward's chair - and has been a centrepiece in coronations for 700 years. 

The top and final tier also features details from the Coronation chair and is topped with a ceramic interpretation of the sovereign's orb, which is one of the Crown Jewels. 

Speaking about the showstopping sweet treat, Robert shared: "Altogether, the cake has been five months in the planning, from researching the design right through to decoration. The actual baking, ageing and decoration of the fruit cake took two months.

"During the five months we explored various cake recipes, different ingredients, and decorating techniques before we settled on the final recipe, which took inspiration from the Prince’s Foundation ethos – Respecting the Past, Building the Future.

"To make and bake the final cake took approximately 120 hours in total - and decorating and adding the finishing touches to the cake took a further 160 hours altogether, so it wasn’t an easy feat.

"The entire process was an incredible honour, as well as a wonderful journey – including collaborating with various people from different professionalisms, to create the finished cake. I’m so pleased with the finished result – it made the whole thing worth it."

To make the Coronation cake, Robert used some ingredients from Charles' Highgrove estate.

Sharing the details, Robert said: "The Coronation cake is a fruit cake, packed with succulent fruits including sultanas, raisins, and glacé cherries, which make up over half of the recipe. Fruit cakes require feeding and ageing to enhance their eating quality and develop their complex flavour.

"The final Coronation cake has been fed and aged for around two months with 1,000 Trees Apple Eau de Vie 2020, which is made from apples sourced from His Majesty’s Highgrove Estate."

But how did the cake stay fresh for so long?

Robert revealed the secret: "The best way to preserve the great flavours of a fruit cake is to wrap it in baking parchment in an airtight container, so that’s how it was stored during the process."

Robert went directly to the royals to take on the honour of making the celebratory cake, and carried out tasting sessions to ensure it was absolute perfection for the monarch, before gifting the edible present. 

He said: "McVitie’s have a longstanding history with the Royal family, and are an official Royal Warrant Holder. When we heard the great news about the Coronation, we wrote to the palace offering to make a cake to their majesties and this offer was graciously accepted.

"We conducted a number of tasting sessions with a specialist team and discussed them with the palace to ensure that all feedback was included in the final cake."

Robert did not create the masterpiece singlehandedly, as he had the support of award-winning cake designers, Elizabeth Wood, Rosalind Miller, QEST Almuni and Ceramicist Nico Conti, as well as other culinary experts.

He explained: "I was supported by a huge team to help me bring this creation to life, from palace staff to internal project managers at Pladis and McVitie’s.

"We also engaged award-winning cake designers, Elizabeth Wood and Rosalind Miller and QEST Almuni & Ceramicist  Nico Conti to help us finalise the design of the cake. Each tier of the cake has its own unique design, which combines modern minimalism with the majesty of the Coronation ceremony.

"We were conscious we wanted to reflect the ethos of Their Majesties and believe through the iterative process we achieved that with our gift.

"I was also supported by McVitie’s food safety, regulatory, analytical, and packaging colleagues throughout the entire process."

The cake has been transported to Windsor Castle for Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, and royal guests to enjoy, and we can't help but wish we could taste a slither of the masterpiece.

Robert shared: "We’ve delivered the cake to Windsor Castle and hope the Royal Family have a chance to enjoy it across the weekend!

"To transport the cake to Windsor Castle, we divided the cake into four different parts, and it was constructed on-site in the palace in advance of the big day. Overall, constructing the cake again took less than two hours."

Robert and his team's hard work has certainly paid off as the cake looks spectacular, but pressure is on for the royals to enjoy the decadent confectionary creation Robert gifted to His Majesty the King, Queen Camilla, and their guests. 

Robert shared: "We’re excited to see the public’s reaction to the cake too, as hundreds of slices of cake will be given to royal guests attending a Coronation reception at Windsor Castle."