The 4-Ingredient Chocolate Cake Queen Elizabeth Never Shared (It's That Good)

Queen Elizabeth II would have celebrated her 100th birthday on April 21, 2026, and for royal watchers and chocolate lovers, there is no better way to honor the late queen than with her favorite Chocolate Biscuit Cake—a treat insiders say the famously selfless monarch loved so much she refused to share it with anyone.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady fondly recalls how the queen enjoyed a tiny piece of cake every day—usually lemon, ginger, or a jam-and-cream sponge—with her afternoon tea. Any remainder of these layered cakes was shared with royal staff.

However, the chocolate biscuit cake was different. It was sliced into queen-sized portions, stored safely, and served bit by biscuity bit until it was eaten entirely by the queen herself. I’ve never felt more like, Queens, they're just like us.

With just four ingredients—cookies, dark chocolate, sugar, and butter—plus a little time to set, you’ll be biting into the crunchiest cake you’ve ever met. Plus, you don't even need to turn on the oven.

Biscuits in England are cookies in America, but rich tea biscuits are lightly sweet, snappy wafers that hold onto their crispiness even after being smothered in chocolate and left in the fridge for days.

I shared my Queen Elizabeth birthday cake with friends, who all loved the surprisingly satisfying crunch of those biscuits. For anyone who loves crunchy candy bars, this cake definitely gives Nestle Crunch, Kinder Crispy, or cornflake Ritter Sport vibes. The chocolate coating also didn’t disappoint, and mini chocolate chips made for a party-worthy topping—much better than 100 candles.

My Tips for Trying This Recipe

• Stick with caster sugar, which is also called baker’s sugar or superfine sugar. Granulated sugar leaves a grainy texture. Trust me—I tried it! You can find caster sugar on Amazon or make your own by blending granulated sugar into finer granules.
• I found McVitie’s digestive biscuits in the British section of my grocery store, and similar Kedem tea biscuits in the kosher section. I also suspect, based on texture and flavor, that animal crackers could work in a pinch.
• Cutting this cake is a delightfully messy adventure, since biscuits are naturally knife-averse. I had the best luck letting the cake rest at room temperature for 30 minutes and using a dry knife with a confident chopping motion rather than a sawing technique.
• Since it’s a birthday party, I upgraded the chocolate topping with heavy cream to make a super-easy ganache, which just requires heating the cream and stirring in the chocolate for a thicker, glossy finish.