The ongoing Royal family hype has given us a hankering for classic, homely recipes from the land of bangers and mash. Ever looked at the queen in her snazzy get-up and developed a craving for jam and cream-smothered scones? Us too. We’ve selected some of the most iconic British recipes out there to honour the birth of the newest addition to the royal family. Try your hand at these classic English dishes to celebrate the Harry-Meghan baby, and, when reading the recipes, please do so in your best British accent.

Classic British Recipes fit for the royal family

Classic Tea Scones

There really isn’t anything more British than tea and scones is there? It’s quite impossible to not feel incredibly snazzy when sipping on English tea and eating scones.

All hail the scone: Scones are thought to have originated in Scotland in the early 1500s. As is often the case with food though, the exact origins can be muddy. Some say the name “scone” comes from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot’, meaning beautiful bread. Another school of thought is that it comes from the Stone of Destiny, where the Kings of Scotland were crowned.

This teatime classic is baked to golden perfection, smothered in sweet strawberry jam and topped with whipped Chantilly cream. An impossibly delicious combination that will make you smitten for scones.

Recipe for Classic Tea Scones

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Beef Wellington

Beef wellie is a seemingly simple looking dish but this guy takes a bit of effort to perfect. The results, however, are 100% worthwhile. A beef Wellington is pretty much everything you want in a comforting dinner dish – juicy meat and umami mushroom flavour encased inside crispy puff pastry.

What’s in a name? Beef Wellington is said to have been named after soldier, Arthur Wellesley, who is famous for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. He was made the first Duke of Wellington in honour of this.

Our fillet is seared in a cast iron pan until caramelised, slathered with an English mustard paste and a mushroom duxelle, rolled in parma ham and housed inside golden puff pastry.

Recipe for Beef Wellington

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Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire puddings are the perfect vessels for housing all the delish gravy made with your Sunday roast. Another classic British recipe that is, in fact, savoury and not a pudding at all.

Catch the fat: Yorkshire puddings apparently came about when cooks in the 1700s placed trays of batter under meat cooking over a fire in order to make use of the drippings. These puffed up fat breads were often served with gravy as a starter as an inexpensive way to fill up diners before more expensive meat courses. Clever!

There are two secrets to making perfect Yorkies – the first is to wait for your muffin tin to be smoking hot in the oven before pouring your batter in. This results in the bowl-shaped effect of the puds, which is necessary for holding all that gorgeous gravy. The second is  to leave the batter left in the fridge overnight – no one knows exactly why, but this seems to yield the best and fluffiest pastries you can get.

Recipe for Yorkshire Puddings 

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Eton Mess

This classic British dessert is the epitome of ‘less is more’. The best thing about an Eton Mess is that there’s really no right way of doing it, you basically throw it all together and it tastes amazing.

Getting schooled: Eton Mess, as you’ve probably guessed, is linked to Eton College, the school most famous for its history of royal scholars. The dish is said to have been served from the school tuck shop and other stories have it as a traditional dish served at an annual cricket match between the school and rivals, Harrow. Some say the original dish was dropped and what was served was the scraped up version. Since no stories can be proved we’re content to live with the legend as is.

We layer sweet strawberry compote, chewy meringue, chantilly cream and fresh fruit to form one of the simplest and tastiest desserts.

Recipe for Eton Mess

Love entertaining? Check out these delicious braai sides and our favourite recipes for dining al fresco.