The cake for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is perhaps based on the strict tradition of the British royal court, but its taste cannot compete with the “Bulgarian” cake. Three hundred journalists from across the globe accredited for the wedding of Price Harry and Meghan Markle tried both cakes and unanimously said the sweet masterpiece of Bulgarian confectioner Ivan Alexandrov was better.

In the 1990’s two talented brothers join the Travel and Tourism Technical School in Bankya. One of them dreamt of becoming a famous chef and the second one wanted to become an actor later. Years later Ivan became a royal baker and Vladimir Karamazov plays at the Ivan Vazov National Theater.

Confectioner Ivan Alexandrov has been living in Great Britain for five years. He gained huge popularity and was invited to make the second important cake for the royal wedding- the cake for the journalists. In one week only he managed to make a 100 kg cake decorated with hand-made flowers in white, violet, lavender (light purple) and peach colors.

I received many positive opinions and comments and the journalists even said my cake was more beautiful than the original royal cake. We saw the real wedding cake at some point and in all honesty it looked quite strange to me. Most people said mine was better. The guests were impressed mainly with the height of my spectacular cake which looked like a real wedding cake. Of course, they were also impressed with its fresh and nice flavor. It contained elements of the traditional Bulgarian cakes- I used sugar syrup and cream and my cake layers were not dry.

The royal confectioner used classical Bulgarian combination in his cake-elderflower and lemon and of course made his own author’s interpretation.

The lemon cream is made of squeezed lemon and eggs. I added elderlower and elder syrup to the cake layers instead of the traditional lemon zest. The lemon gives the cake a very fresh taste and the elderflower gives a touch of nice and sharp taste. Thus, you have a light spring cake.

Ivan made his first cookies for his ill grandmother when he was a little child. When he graduated from high school he was determined to find the recipe of a very popular cake at that time Japanese cake. For the purpose, he was employed at the pastry-shop which sold that cake. He copied the recipe in the restroom and made sure no one saw him and tree days later he left the job saying it was not his piece of cake. Later, he tried to open his own confectionery, worked in big hotels and wanted to grow constantly in his career, which was a difficult job in Bulgaria.

The economic situation in Bulgaria was very bad and I told myself I had to leave the country, Ivan recalls. My first steps in London were very difficult. It took me three whole months to get the necessary documents. Then I applied for confectioner. My first kitchen was a nightmare. I had to start from scratch, but I was motivated to stay. Later, I worked in some of the best hotels and restaurants in London. I collected a lot of recipes and started to build my own cooking style. One year later I became chief confectioner in a hotel.

Ivan reached the five-starHaymarket Hotel which is in the top 5 of the best hotels in London. Today he has his own business-Boutique cookie’s cakes. He makes artistic confectionery and has many VIP clients. However, Ivan admits he still has a lot to learn, especially when it comes to decoration.

A confectioner would never think his cake is perfect, Ivan contends. I see my mistakes and the mistakes of others. The cake may look perfect only in the eyes of the client. I did not like some of my cakes, but they were wonderful and beautiful in the eyes of my clients, which was quite surprising. In such cases I tell myself- well it turns out that my opinion is not so important.

Ivan Alexandrov will soon arrive in Bulgaria to hold master classes. This will be a short visit, but I know that one day I will come back in Bulgaria for good, Ivan says.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov