A breakfast recipe frequently favoured by King Charles was shared by Clarence House in 2020 and is easy to recreate at home
What springs to mind when you imagine the Royal Family at dinner? Maybe roast pheasant or caviar being served amid the opulent surroundings of Buckingham Palace?
However, one particular recipe from Clarence House shows that Royal fare doesn’t always need to be so fancy or over-the-top. Actually, there’s a simple dish that King Charles regularly enjoys which you can easily whip up in your own home.
The creation, called ‘Cheesy Baked Eggs’, was made public in 2020, back when our current monarch was still the Prince of Wales. Staff at Clarence House’s Instagram account insist it can be made using various cheeses plus six other ingredients.
“One thing that undoubtedly brings many of us great comfort is good food,” His Majesty said at the time during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. “It is, therefore, deeply troubling to learn that this crisis risks destroying one of the most wonderful joys in life – British cheese!”, reports the Express.
If you fancy having a go at some Royal cooking, Clarence House recommends gathering these ingredients:
- Double cream, 80ml
- Torn basil leaves
- Hard grated cheese (for example, Old Winchester), 15g
- One egg
- Optional: charcuterie/cold-cut meats
- One cherry tomato or sundried tomatoes
- Wilted spinach, 100g
- Soft cheese (for instance, Tunworth, Gold Cenarth or other strong soft cheese), 35g
Begin by greasing a baking dish and lining it with wilted greens and tomatoes to form an appealing foundation. Arrange these around the edges of the dish, creating a hollow in the middle.
After laying the groundwork, scatter the creamy cheese and chopped basil over everything. At this stage, you could add seasoning and perhaps some sliced charcuterie, though that’s completely up to you.
Once you’ve made the well, crack an egg into the middle. Follow this with 80ml of double cream and a hearty dusting of grated hard cheese.
“Place in a hot oven (180C) for eight to 10 minutes,” advises Clarence House. “Let it stand for a few minutes before eating.”
Prince Charles isn’t the only Royal who relishes baked eggs. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, is also fond of a similar dish, having savoured it frequently during his childhood.
“Baked eggs, also known as Oeufs en Cocotte, have long been a staple of the royal table, from Queen Victoria to the present day,” he penned in his newly released book, Cooking & The Crown, as reported by the Express.
He added: “This was also a favourite dish from my childhood, usually devoured when we returned home from our holidays, when the fridge and larder were bare. My mother would use eggs from our chickens.”
Tom’s gastronomic guide, ‘Cooking & The Crown’, features over 100 recipes spanning from Queen Victoria’s reign to that of Prince Charles. It presents extravagant dishes such as ‘Pommes Elizabeth’ and ‘Pudding au Pain et aux Cerises’, alongside a variety of simple recipes perfect for trying out at home.
