From coronation cupcakes to biscuits to cakes, if you're looking to make something extra special for King Charles III's coronation this bank holiday weekend, we've got some great Union Jack-themed bakes to choose from.
Whether you're looking for a sweet buffet food option for a street party, classic British cakes for a bake sale, or some quintessential afternoon tea ideas to impress the family, we've got a fantastic and suitably patriotic array of cakes for the occasion.
"One of the royal’s favorite flavors is lemon - the Queen actually had lemon posset at her wedding," says award-winning baker Kate Tynan from Little Button Bakery, whose cakes have even been featured in that classic British soap Coronation Street. She adds; "Lemon is a great summer flavor choice for cakes. Add the zest and juice to a sponge mix or the fresh juice into buttercream for cupcakes. You could also make lemon curd to top some regal afternoon tea scones – a British classic! Pair them with clotted cream and strawberries for a luxurious Jubilee treat. Or why not fill some jam tarts with it too? Add some pastry crowns to the top so they are fit for royalty."
Kate also suggests getting your kids involved with your coronation bakes. "Make cupcakes and color the batter in blue and red for the Union Jack, add some red, white, and blue sprinkles, and then get them to design some celebratory paper flags to add to the top. For a quicker (less messy!) decoration, you can also buy ready-coloured tubes of icing to make a flag pattern on your cupcakes. Or why not make some crown-shaped cookies and decorate them with some edible gold leaf or edible glitter and gold sprinkles?"
Coronation cakes and bakes 2023
1. Coronation cake
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 60 mins
An icon among cakes, the classic Victoria Sponge is about as British as a pot of tea. This one is layered and sandwiched together with cream and both blueberry and strawberry jam, and topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries fashioned into a Union Jack.
The good news is that you don't need any fancy piping skills to make it look impressive, plus the fruit means this cake is almost good for you, right? And there is no bad news, it just tastes amazing. Perfect for a family gathering.
Get the recipe: Coronation cake
2. Coronation cupcakes
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 50 mins
These vanilla cupcakes with frosting are easily patriotic, thanks to some red, white, and blue sprinkles and the addition of a mini Union Jack (you can pick these up easily on Amazon). Simple, but effective, so just the thing if you're not much of an expert baker – and perfect as your contribution to the street party spread. The Union Jack cupcake cases add to the royal theme.
Get the recipe: Coronation cupcakes
3. Pearly Queen chocolate cakes
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 90 mins
How adorable are these? A brilliant twist on traditional royal cakes, make them as small or as big as you want to depending on how many guests you have and how much they love chocolate cake. If you want to make these little cakes even more patriotic, swap the black buttercream for a mix of red, white, and blue instead and get creative.
Get the recipe: Pearly Queen chocolate cakes
4. Crown cake
Serves: 22 | Skill level: Challenging | Total time: 8 hours 30 mins
Worthy of a Bake Off champion, this is one for the dedicated cakesmiths out there and we can't deny it's ever-so-slightly tricky, but we have a full step-by-step guide to hold your hand through the decorating process.
You'll need a lot of time and patience, as this cake definitely can't be knocked up in a hurry, but doesn't it just look worth it? It'll be a big talking point come coronation day – in fact, we're not sure even the King will be presented with a cake as utterly fabulous and lux as this one.
Get the recipe: Crown cake
5. Union Jack Jubilee cake
Serves: 18 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hour 50 mins
This delicious lemon cake is a pretty simple traybake that will easily serve lots of hungry mouths at a street party (while looking jolly fancy with the summer fruits arranged with the rolled-out white icing on the top). If you need a little extra tuition on the art of cake toppers, we've got step-by-step pics on how to make the fruity flag topping, just for you.
Get the recipe: Union Jack Jubilee cake
6. Raspberry cream cupcakes
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 45 mins
Simple and elegant, these raspberry cupcakes look right at home on a special party spread, or as part of a Jubilee-themed afternoon tea – you could just add some blue sprinkles to give them the full British red, white, and blue.
Perfect if you're celebrating the King's big day with friends and family, be sure to present them on your finest cake plate. Now, pass us the teapot and the cucumber sandwiches, will you?
Get the recipe: Raspberry cream cupcakes
7. Fiona Cairns’ Victoria sponge with summer berries
Serves: 16 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 1 hour
There's absolutely nothing that Fiona Cairns doesn't know about baking cakes fit for the King – because HRH has actually eaten her cakes. That's because she designed and made the 8-tier fruit cake for William and Kate's wedding a decade ago, no less. And now she's made a cake for us, too – and, mercifully, it's a bit easier to recreate than her spectacular royal wedding offering.
Get the recipe: Victoria sponge with summer berries
8. Chocolate strawberry cake
Serves: 8-10 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hour 50 mins
Is a party even a party if it doesn't involve a chocolate cake? This rich fudgy chocolate cake is decorated with fresh strawberries for a more coronation-like feel – and you can even top this cake with a berry-based Union Jack if you want to go all out.
Whatever you do, the making and slathering on of a marvelously gooey ganache will see that this cake is a right royal showstopper, and would be perfect if you're taking part in a coronation bake sale.
Get the recipe: Chocolate strawberry cake
9. Battenberg cake
Serves: 8-10 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hour 50 mins
An absolute icon of British baking. Sure, you can buy one in a packet from the supermarket, but making your own version of that chequered sponge wrapped in marzipan will be a serious street party talking point.
This beauty has crushed pistachios in the mix and might look like it needs Mary Berry's skills, but it's not as hard as you might think. Bake two sponges - one pink, one green – cut and assemble with marzipan and jam, and voilà. If you're skilled (or patient), you can also make your own marzipan flowers to really make it fancy.
Get the recipe: Homemade Battenberg
10. Chocolate biscuit cake
Serves: 16 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 mins
It's a simple bake, but one with royal approval – because this was the Queen's favorite cake, and that's official. Former Buckingham Palace chef Darren O'Grady said this was Her Majesty's favorite treat with a cup of Earl Grey in the afternoon – and it's said she has a slice every single day. If that's the secret to a long and healthy life, then we don't mind if we do.
Get the recipe: Chocolate biscuit cake
11. Union Jack flag cookies
Serves: 16 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hr 45 mins
These cute and visually striking flag cookies do require a steady hand but they do not require perfection – they're meant to look homemade after all. You'll need a flag cookie cutter and sticks (try Amazon), colored icing, and some gold balls for the flag posts. Try displaying them in a jar filled with uncooked rice so they stay upright – you could stand them in your finest retro coronation crockery.
Get the recipe: Union Jack flag cookies
12. Pistachio and lemon Amaretti
Serves: 20 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 45 mins
These tres chic bakes might be more Italian than homegrown but they are a nod to the flavors in the official coronation pudding – a lemon and amaretti trifle. Easy to make, they're also low-fat, and clearly fabulous with a frothy coffee after a coronation-inspired dinner. You could also crumble them over some summer berries and whipped cream or ice cream for a perfect sunny Bank Holiday dessert.
Get the recipe: Pistachio and lemon amaretti
13. Double chocolate chip cookies
Serves: 24 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 42 mins
Do you know what the Queen loved to eat in the morning with her cup of tea? Nope, not eggs and bacon, but chocolate biscuits. Her former chef says that the Queen was a serious chocoholic and likes to start the day with a couple of biccies with her tea.
And, as befitting royalty, these are absolutely top-notch chocolate cookies – they have milk, dark and white choc chunks in them, and even the dough has actual real chocolate rather than just plain old cocoa powder in it.
Get the recipe: Double chocolate chip cookies
14. Bakewell trifle
Serves: 4-5 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 30 mins
Is it even a special occasion if there isn't a trifle involved? Desserts don't come much more British than this – and the official pudding of the coronation is a riff of the classic trifle. We've gone back to basics here, with the almonds on top a homage to another classic dessert, the Bakewell tart.
And, instead of one big dish, this is individually portioned, so no arguing over who got the biggest serving. An ideal end to your Bank Holiday Sunday dinner.
Get the recipe: Bakewell trifle
15. Strawberry cupcakes
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 40 mins
A cake topped with a shiny red strawberry is always a delight to behold, and the even more wonderful thing about these cupcakes is that the sponge is a strawberry flavor too.
The frosting, made with mascarpone cheese, is super simple too, yet how effective? Make a double batch, present them on a pretty stand, and they'll be the talk of the street party cake table.
Get the recipe: Strawberry cupcakes
16. Pimms cupcake
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Could there be a more quintessentially English drink than Pimms in the summer? Fill a big jug full of mint, strawberries, and cucumbers and mix with lemonade, and serve not with crisps and nuts, but with these awesome Pimms cupcakes.
Filled with a mix of strawberries, sugar, and Pimms and topped with cucumber, oranges, and strawberries, they're cute, tasty, and novel. Now we don't know about you, but we're ready for cricket on the lawn.
Get the recipe: Pimms cupcakes
17. Queen’s sponge
Serves: 10-12 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 1 hr 10mins
This isn't any old commoner's sponge. As befitting its name, this is a Champagne sponge with passion fruit and marshmallow filling. Created by chef Brian Turner and Julia Speare Cole, a relative of the baker who made the original Victoria sponge, no less, this is a 'Catherine sponge' and was first made to mark the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.
Get the recipe: Queen's sponge
18. Welsh fruited tea bread
Serves: 10 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 1 hr 30 mins
If you fancy representing all the countries of the King's home nation in your coronation bakes, flying the flag for Wales is this fruit bread – or bara brith to you, if you're Welsh. A regional classic, it's simple to make and is delicious warm or cold, and ideally slathered in butter. If there's any left from your coronation gathering, try it for breakfast with a strong cup of tea. Nice with a hunk of cheese too, if you ask us.
Get the recipe: Welsh fruited tea bread
19. Kirstie Allsopp’s Union Jack celebration cake
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 40 mins
Kirstie's take on a simple classic, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this Union Jack cake, featuring a fresh fruit flag. The easy sponge is made with condensed milk with a jam filling and a buttercream icing topping. A proud centerpiece to any coronation party on any street.
Get the recipe: Kirstie's Union Jack celebration cake
20. Lemon curd cake
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 55 mins
Lemon curd is a British classic. Deliciously sweet on toast, it's also an excellent baking ingredient, and fit for a coronation treat. The soft sponge is covered with citrus buttercream and a lemon curd filling.
Tangy but not too tart, it's ideal for those who prefer their sweet treats a little sharper. And as much as we love a summer berry for our coronation cakes, this is a nice contrast to all that strawberry action.
Get the recipe: Lemon curd cake
21. Coffee and walnut cake
Serves: 8 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 55 mins
An icon of British bakes, this traditional coffee, and walnut cake can be made well in advance – you can even freeze it and defrost it before the royal celebrations. Topped with coffee-infused buttercream and walnuts, this is best washed down with, you guessed it, a sweet, milky coffee. Or, if the sun comes out for His Majesty, how about an iced coffee instead? Perfection.
Get the recipe: Coffee and walnut cake
22. Lemon squares
Serves: 16 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 45 mins
One for the kids (sure, and the big kids) these zesty treats filled with sultanas, mascarpone, and lemon curd are decorated with your favorite sweets – of the iconic British variety, of course. Dolly Mixtures and Liquorice Allsorts are visually striking (and tasty) as a topping, but, if you did want to be a tad more sophisticated, you could top with a sprinkling of lemon zest instead. Pastel perfection.
Get the recipe: Lemon squares
23. Mini Victoria sponges
Serves: 12-14 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 35 mins
A traditional sponge in a nontraditional format, because, like the modern royal family, sometimes we have to shake things up a bit. Victoria sponges were, of course, named after the Queen's great, great grandmother Queen Victoria, as she enjoyed a slice or two with her cuppa. Instead of a slice, you get a whole one to yourself with these, which can only be a good thing.
Get the recipe: Mini Victoria sponges
24. Banana and walnut cake
Serves: 10 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
A mash-up of everyone's favorite lockdown bake and walnut cake, these two classics come together brilliantly. This teatime treat is a perfect coronation cake. We bet His Majesty likes to tuck into a slice with a nice cuppa.
Get the recipe: Banana and walnut cake
25. Chelsea buns
Serves: 12 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 40 mins
Start your coronation day off with a bang, with the ultimate pastry. Fruity, sticky Chelsea buns are one of our favorite traditional British recipes and, as Chelsea is a mere short Daimler ride from Buckingham Palace, they're plenty regal enough for us. Amazing served warm with a pot of Earl Grey, especially when homemade. Don't mind if we do.
Get the recipe: Chelsea buns
26. Caraway seed loaf cake
Serves: 8-10 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 55 mins
An occasion like a royal coronation is a good excuse to revisit ingredients of old and revive bygone recipes. This simple caraway seed loaf was a jolly popular addition to tea time in the Victorian era, and the seeds are quite aniseedy in flavor, giving it a distinctive taste.
The good news is that you can freeze it to delight your taste buds on another day if you're feeling slightly over-faced by the glut of coronation sweet treats.
Get the recipe: Caraway seed loaf cake
27. Iced gingerbread cubes
Serves: 15 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 75 mins
Gingerbread is a classic British bake and this one is deliciously syrupy. Spiced with ground ginger, then topped with crystallized ginger, it's got a real zing and looks far fancier than your average gingerbread too.
The sugary coating softens the flavor a little, and it definitely needs a cup of tea, ideally in a china cup for the occasion, to wash it down. It can also be frozen and saved to brighten up another day in the not-too-distant future.
Get the recipe: Gingerbread cubes
28. Eccles cake
Serves: 20 | Skill level: Medium | Total time: 45 mins
A northern classic, these flat raisin-filled, sugar-coated pastries (a cake that's not really a cake) have been around for quite some time – a chap called James Birch created them at his bakery in Manchester suburb in 1793. There's even a blue plaque to mark the spot.
If you wanted to posh them up for the Jubilee, various foody types, including Heston Blumenthal, have been known to serve them with a hunk of Stilton, which most British cheeses. It shouldn't work, but somehow it really, really does.
Get the recipe: Eccles cakes
29. Lemon Madeira cake
Serves: 6.8 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Named as such because it was traditionally eaten with a glass of Madeira, the sweet wine from the Portuguese island, this is nevertheless a classic British sponge cake.
Flavored with lemon juice and zest, it's perfectly lovely on its own, or as a dessert with fresh cream or custard, and, of course, a glass of Madeira or sherry. Because who are we to argue with tradition? We bet His Majesty would strongly approve.
Get the recipe: Lemon Madeira cake
30. Spiced carrot cake squares
Serves: 15| Skill level: Easy | Total time: 50 mins
Carrot cakes were popular in the 40s and 50s due to rationing at the end of the war, so making these for King Charles III's coronation is a lovely nod to the street parties held for the end of World War 2 and the Queen's Coronation way back in 1953. Not that carrot cake is any less popular today, because good things are made to last – and this recipe is most definitely one of them.
Get the recipe: Spiced carrot cake squares
31. Gizzi Erskine’s blackberry Bakewell cake
Serves: 15| Skill level: Easy | Total time: 50 mins
Another iconic British bake is, of course, the Bakewell tart, hailing from the Peak District town in Derbyshire. TV cook Gizzi Erskine has come up with her own twist on the recipe, in a cake form and adding in fresh blackberries instead of the traditional jam.
It's lower in sugar than traditional bakes and still features the signature Bakewell almond flavor. We think we might sit down to watch the Trooping Of The Colour with a slice of this.
Get the recipe: Blackberry Bakewell cake
32. Marzipan and orange traybake
Serves: 16 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 50 mins
It doesn't get more classic than marzipan, as ingredients go. But this is a slightly less conventional use than the traditional topping to a fruit cake. Grated into the cake mix, along with the flesh and zest of an orange, this simple traybake is topped with icing and crushed pistachios to beautifully balance out the flavors. A delicious addition to any royal tea party, or will go down a storm at a bake sale.
Get the recipe: Marzipan and orange traybake
33. Lemon butterfly fairy cakes
Serves: 168| Skill level: Medium | Total time: 45 mins
Before we got all Americanised and started referring to individual cakes as 'cupcakes', they were better known as fairy cakes. So let's get back to tradition for the coronation with these butterfly cakes that have us feeling all nostalgic for the treats of our childhood birthday parties.
Dusted with icing sugar and filled with mascarpone and lemon curd, they're super cute. You could always coronation them up with some red, white, and blue sprinkles too. Pass them out to all the kids on your street, and they'll lap them up royally.
Get the recipe: Lemon butterfly fairy cakes
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