Royal wedding cake baker reveals how Meghan Markle gave her the ‘best brief ever’

The baker who made the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding cake has revealed how Meghan Markle gave her the ‘best brief ever’ for the dish.

East London baker Claire Ptak made the couple’s wedding cake in 2018, and was also asked by Harry and Meghan to whip up their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday cake last year. 

She has now opened up about the process of baking the treats for the Duke and Duchess, revealing how Meghan commissioned her to make the wedding cake.

She told Tatler: ‘Meghan, she specifically said to me, “I don’t want to tell you what to do… the reason why I’ve chosen you is because I love your baking and your work and your point of view and your ethos”… and I was like, “oh my god, that’s so cool. The best job brief ever!’

Elsewhere she said despite her bond with Harry and Meghan, she is a fan of King Charles, adding it is ‘funny being sort of associated with one half of the family.’

East London baker Claire Ptak made the couple’s wedding cake in 2018, and was also asked by Harry and Meghan to whip up their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday cake last year

She has now opened up about the process of baking the treats for the Duke and Duchess, revealing how Meghan commissioned her to make the wedding cake

During the interview, she explained she created six different options for the couple before they landed on the lemon and elderflower option. 

Californian Claire Ptak made the cake using 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 eggs, and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial made at the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

In keeping with the bride and groom’s modern approach to their big day, the cake, decorated with three different types of peonies – a favourite flower of Meghan’s – was not a traditional tiered creation, but featured layers of different sizes displayed on individual gold plinths of varying heights. 

The baker, who owns the trendy Violet Bakery in East London, worked with her team of six bakers full time for five days in the large kitchens of Buckingham Palace ahead of the big day.

Slices of the cake were served to the 600 guests at the lunchtime reception in St George’s Hall.

Her recipe uses 200 Amalfi lemons, 10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial made using elderflower from the Queen’s Sandringham estate, 20kg (44lb) of butter, 20kg (44lb) of flour, 20kg (44lb) of sugar and 500 organic eggs from Suffolk.

It is believed to have cost £80 per slice, with the three-part layered centrepiece rumoured to have cost up to £50,000 to make.

Claire created treats for Lilibet’s first birthday bash, including a two-tier cake that featured a seasonal strawberry buttercream

East London baker Claire revealed a snap of a £244 floral two-tier strawberry buttercream cake made for Lilibet’s first birthday

Claire said in the days before the wedding: ‘It’s a lemon sponge – a special sponge that I developed just for the couple, and we drizzle the layers with elderflower cordial from the Sandringham estate so it’s really lovely and as local as you can get.

‘We have a lemon curd made from Amalfi lemons which to me have the most delicious flavour. And then we’ve got elderflower swiss meringue buttercream.’

She described the flavour of the cake as being a balance of sweet and tart, combined with ‘ethereal’ elderflower.

‘The buttercream is sweet and the lemon curd is very tart so you get a very lovely thing happening when you take a bite, which is to get all of these flavours and sensations perfectly balanced,’ she added.

Last year, she worked with the couple for a second time as she created treats for Lilibet’s first birthday party in Windsor. 

Among them was a two-tier cake that featured a seasonal strawberry buttercream. 

It was complete with an Amalfi lemon and elderflower filling and covered in a light buttercream.

On the bakeries website, the cake is described as having ‘three layers of vanilla sponge drizzled with elderflower syrup and filled with Amalfi lemon curd.’

The top and sides of the cake are ‘iced with a buttercream scented with the juice and zest of lemons from the Amalfi coast, and decorated with chopped candied Amalfi lemon peel.’

At the time, Claire – who owns the bakery and carefully designed the incredible cake – wrote on the brand’s Instagram: ‘It was an absolute pleasure to make this special cake last week for Lilibet’s birthday.

‘Wishing her a very happy year ahead!’

She added: ‘The inside was the Amalfi lemon and elderflower cake I created for the Duke and Duchess’s wedding in 2018, but this time we covered it with a strawberry buttercream specially for Lilibet.’