The royal wedding tradition Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ditching
You’d be hard-pressed to find an English wedding dessert that isn’t a fruit cake, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shunned the traditional gateau in favour of a more American style cake.
In a statement released by Kensington Palace, it was revealed that pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of the London-based bakery Violet Cakes, has been tasked with creating an organic lemon elderflower cake for Harry and Meghan’s May 19 wedding.
Ptak is originally from California and has already met with Meghan before, having previously been interviewed by the soon-to-be royal for her now-defunct lifestyle website, The Tig.
“Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have asked Claire to create a lemon elderflower cake that will incorporate the bright flavours of spring. It will be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers,” read a statement released by the Palace via Twitter.
“Claire Ptak, who was raised in California, focuses on using seasonal and organic ingredients in her cakes.”
“Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are looking forward to sharing the cake with guests at their wedding at Windsor Castle on May 19th.”
In a statement, Ptak said she was “delighted” to be chosen. “Knowing that they really share the same values as I do about food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and most importantly flavour, makes this the most exciting event to be a part of.”
London high society magazine Tatler describes Ptak’s bakery as an “East London hotspot” that “serves the best American-style bakes around”.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady said he was “delighted” that the couple had chosen to ditch the traditional fruitcake for an American sponge, joking on Twitter, “I wonder how many bakers will be getting calls this morning to, ‘Please change my wedding cake to lemon elderflower.’”
To see some of the most extravagant royal wedding cakes throughout the years, scroll through the gallery above, and tell us in the comments, what do you think of Harry and Meghan’s cake choice?