Diplomat Cream (Crème Diplomate) VIDEO

5 from 7 votes

Diplomat Cream (Crème Diplomate) VIDEO

If you're looking for a classic pastry cream that is light, fluffy, versatile, and absolutely delicious, Diplomat Cream fits the bill. Also known as Crème Diplomate in French, this custard-like cream is a light concoction of pastry cream, whipped cream, and gelatin (optional). Whether you use it as a dessert filling, a dessert topping, or by itself as a sweet treat, it is just as decadent! The best part is that my diplomat cream recipe is easy to make and whip up in just an hour.

Prep Time30

Waiting time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings:

Calories: 255kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

500 g Whole milk 3% fat
100 g Granulated sugar
80 g Egg yolk approx. yolk of 4-5 eggs
25 g Corn starch
25 g All purpose flour
2 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
50 g Unsalted butter 82% fat, room temperature soft butter
3 Sheets of gelatin 3x1.7g=5g gelatin overall
200 g Heavy Cream very cold. 36% fat

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water
In a large enough bowl, with the help of a Hand whisk, whisk together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes
Whisk in corn starch, flour, and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated and have a smooth paste
Bring milk to simmering in a saucepan on medium heat then remove it as soon as it starts simmering
Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a Hand whisk. This stage is effectively tempering the egg yolks and the mixture should already start to slightly thicken
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don't worry just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy
Squeeze excess water from the gelatin sheets and stir them into the mixture one by one
If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump free, creamy end result
Add in room temperature soft butter and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth adding the butter in 3 stages and mixing well after each addition.
Pastry cream needs to completely cool before folding the heavy cream in. Place the cream into a shallow bowl or cake pan and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top. Let it come to room temperature
Once cooled, whisk the pastry cream for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth texture. Make sure you do not over whisk it as it can get runny. Give it a few whisk only until smooth
Whip very cold heavy cream until soft peak. Do not overwhip it to a point that it would form lumps.
Carefully, with the help of a rubber spatula, fold in heavy cream into the pastry cream. It is worth adding the whipped heavy cream in 3 stages and folding after each addition.
The Diplomat Cream can be used immediately to fill cakes, tarts, choux pastry, etc. If the cream is more on the soft side, refrigerate it for 1-2 hours before using it.
Store in the fridge for 1-2 days

Video

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES:

Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
Good quality butter, pure vanilla, and high fat content (36%) heavy cream are the heart of making diplomat cream.
Fresh, farm eggs will provide bright yellow color cream, while cheaper supermarket eggs will result in a paler cream
You can replace the gelatin sheets by an equal amount of gelatin powder (5g)

TECHNIQUE NOTES:

Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details, and science behind baking.
Let the pastry cream chill before folding the cream in
It's worth keeping a good quality (so that the milk won't burn in it) small/medium-sized saucepan for making pastry cream only
Make sure to gently fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream using a rubber spatula

Nutrition