Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Kyle O'Sullivan

Queen's priceless response to 'wonky' birthday cake made by Bake Off winner

When Nadiya Hussain was given the honour of baking for the Queen, the Bake Off winner had no idea what she was letting herself in for. The 2015 champion, who launched her own TV series after coming out on top in the famous white tent, was tasked with baking Her Majesty a cake for her 90th birthday back in 2016.

Nadiya was contacted by the Palace a couple of weeks ago before to see if she would be willing to take on the task. "My initial reaction was, it must be a mistake or some kind of prank," she said on The One Show at the time. "I told my husband and he said I had to do it. How could I say no?"

Queen Elizabeth II with Nadiya Hussain, winner of the Great British Bake Off (PA)

For the latest updates as the world mourns the Queen and King Charles III's reign begins, follow our live blog.

When the baking star asked her daughter what sort of cake she should make for Her Majesty, she got a hilarious response.

Nadiya revealed: "When I told my daughter I was nervous, she said 'But mummy, you've made lots of cakes for Mary Berry'. Then it dawned on me - she thinks Mary Berry is the Queen!"

She confessed she was "super nervous", she was visibly shaking when she baked the multi-tier masterpiece in her kitchen at home.

"Okay that's my hand trembling. I'm officially super nervous," she told the cameras in footage shown on The One Show. "It's such an honour to be doing this. I just don't want to disappoint the Queen."

Nadiya confessed she feared the cake could turn out uneven and was seen repeatedly trying to make sure that each tier was the same.

"For a cake like this, you've got to get the spirit level out. That will bug me until I take every crumb off," she explained.

Nadia has prepared an orange drizzle cake with a butter cream and marmalade filling for the Queen's birthday, but feared it wouldn't be to her liking.

Nadiya got to bake the Queen's 90th birthday cake (PA)

"I don't even know if the Queen likes orange," added Nadia. "She might hate it! I was going to do grapefruit but I thought that might be a bit out there.

"I don't know exactly what is going to be happening but I do know that I get to see the Queen and I get to give her the cake."

The Bake Off winner received some citicism online, with a few people claiming she had served the Queen a 'wonky' cake.

During an appearance on Loose Women, she was asked by the celebrity panel how she felt about the criticism.

"If I cared about every little thing people say or that kind of negativity, I don't think I would be able to leave my house," she said.

"So do you know what? I couldn't care less!"

Although some spectators were critical of Nadiya's cake, the Great British Bake Off star revealed that Her Majesty didn't seem to notice.

Nadiya got to chat to the Queen (PA)

"Well, she took the top tier home with her," she admitted. "She had a visit from the Obamas the next day so maybe she gave them some."

In March last year, Nadiya confessed she is "not a royalist" and did not realised baking a cake for the Queen was such a big deal.

The Bake Off champ said her family were "not that interested" in the Royal Family and so the enormity of the situation didn't dawn on her at first.

"I was so naive," Nadiya admitted on Gaby Roslin's podcast. "It's really weird, growing up in an immigrant home, I'm not a royalist, my parents aren't at all interested in the Royal Family, not one tiny bit."

"They know who they are. From [Princess] Diana onwards, they've been interested, but anything before they're not that interested.

"So, for them, it wasn't a big deal at all. So, I didn't realise how big a thing it was. But it was scary, very scary."

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.