Diplomat cream is a cream derived from pastry cream (click for the recipe) of French origin, used as a filling for pastries. Known in French as crème diplomate, this delicate cream is made by folding whipped cream into pastry cream stabilized with gelatin and flavored with vanilla or rum
Renowned for its light and creamy texture, it adds a refined touch to desserts like the famous fraisier cake (French strawberry cake).
Light diplomat cream recipe
Table of Contents
After the mascarpone Chantilly cream, here is the recipe for the light and foolproof diplomat cream, another cream widely used in pastry. It is used in the composition of many pastries in particular the Fraisier cake (French strawberry cake), Napoleon (millefeuille ) and other cakes more recently the number cake ! It is used to fill donuts, tarts, choux pastry, etc.
Perfect piping of diplomat cream
Easy and airy diplomat cream
Delicious, light, and airy, it’s a basic recipe that should be in your recipe book. It consists of pastry cream and whipped cream, which initially does not contain gelatin because it has good consistency. You just need to whip the cream well.
However, to ensure it holds perfectly when you need a flawless finish or for piping, we add a small amount of gelatin.
| Diplomat cream is made from pastry cream and whipped cream. with gelatin for better firmness. |
We often and mistakenly think that gelatin only serves to set preparations. However, as some manufacturers and especially my favorite chef, Mr. Philippe Conticini, point out, it also helps to aerate creams, giving them more volume and lightness. What would a french tarte tropézienne be without this cream !
Perfect diplomat cream recipe
Mastering diplomat cream is essential if you enjoy making homemade pastries. This cream, also known as “crème Madame”, is easy to prepare. All you need to know is how to prepare a pastry cream and add whipped cream once it has cooled.
Can diplomat cream be made without gelatin?
Can diplomat cream be made without gelatin?The addition of gelatin is optional if you want to use this cream to fill cream puffs or other pastries. However, if you want to make entremets or cakes with a flawless finish, such as a fraisier cake with diplomat cream, gelatin is indispensable.
It’s particularly useful for creating superb rosettes and other decorations using a piping bag.
How to store it ?
Diplomat cream should be used within two hours of preparation. It is thus easy to pipe, with a smooth texture. You can keep it in the refrigerator for 48 hours if you want to use it to fill a tart or cake.
Once your cakes have been garnished or decorated, you can freeze them. Diplomat cream stands up well to freezing.
To use it in entremets, you don’t need to make it firm, and you can freeze it for up to 1 month or more.
The recipe for light diplomat cream on video
What you’ll love about diplomat cream
Light, airy texture :
You will appreciate this cream for its lightness in the mouth and its airy texture, which is achieved through the addition of whipped cream.
Sweet, subtle flavour :
The delicate and subtle flavor of diplomat cream is often enhanced with the addition of flavors such as vanilla.
Stability :
It is an enriched pastry cream that is stable and can be used to fill cakes or pastries without collapsing. It holds well when used to decorate with a piping bag, making it ideal for use on cupcakes, number cakes etc…
Versatile :
It can be used as a filling or as a base for other desserts such as mousses or entremets.
Easy to prepare :
Diplomat cream is easy to prepare and doesn’t require many ingredients, making it a perfect option for amateur and professional pastry chefs alike.
Ingredients:
Diplomat cream ingredients
NB: Find the printable recipe card without images at the end of the article.
For a 20 cm (7.8 in) x 4.5 cm (1.7 in) fraisier cake, make 2/3 of the recipe.
- 450 ml (15.2 oz ) whole milk but any kind of milk works fine.
- 125 g ( 4.4 oz ) caster sugar
- 4 or 5 egg yolks, depending on size (100 g ) (3.5 oz)
- 4 gelatin sheets 200 blooms (8 g) (0.3 oz)
- 1 or 2 vanilla beans
- 30 g (1 oz) butter
- 50 g (1.7 oz) cornstarch
- 400 ml (13.5 oz) heavy cream 32/35% fat
Preparation steps :
Start with the pastry cream, which you can make the day before.
1. Put a little sugar in a saucepan and pour the milk over it. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, along with the split vanilla bean, to the milk. Adding a little sugar at the start will prevent the cream from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan
2. Heat on medium heat until it starts to simmer without boiling. Remove from heat, strain and leave to infuse for at least 30 min.
3. Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes while you prepare the pastry cream. Leave to swell.
4. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. You can use a magic whisk or a regular whisk.
5. Add the sifted cornstarch. whisk to smooth and combine. Do not overwhisk.
6. Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove just before boiling, and pour a little over the egg mixture through a sieve. Mix well to blend the egg mixture with the milk.
7. Add the remaining milk, stir and return the mixuture to the saucepan.
8. Bring to medium heat, stirring constantly. The pastry cream will thicken gradually. Do not stop cooking just after it has thickened, but let it boil for one more minute. Remove the pastry cream from heat when it starts to form air bubbles. Stop whisking occasionally to check its progress.
9. Off the heat, add the cold butter and stir to incorporate it. Once it has melted, add the well-squeezed gelatin.
10. Pour the pastry cream in a thin layer into a wide dish and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. You can prepare it the day before for the next day. The next day, you will only need to finish preparing the diplomat cream.
11. Whip the cold heavy cream at medium speed at first, and as soon as it is frothy, continue to whip at maximum speed. It should become firm with stiff peaks on the whisk. It shouldn’t be too firm, otherwise you’ll have difficulty incorporating it into the pastry cream.
12. Smooth the pastry cream with an immersion blender or in the bowl of the stand mixer that you have emptied of the whipped cream. You can also use a hand mixer. It should become very smooth with no lumps.
13. Add a good spatula of whipped cream to it and mix without precautions. Add a little more whipped cream and whisk until smooth.
14. Pour it all back into the mixing bowl over the remaining whipped cream. Gently fold with a spatula from bottom to top to thoroughly combine the pastry cream and whipped cream.
15. Your diplomat cream is ready, put it in a piping bag for immediate use, or set aside in the bowl, covered with paper wrap. Preferably use it within 2 hours after preparation.
It’s smoother and you’ll create beautiful rosettes. To make pretty decorations with a piping bag, let it firm up a bit in the refrigerator for good stability. Once piped onto cupcakes, for example, or into a entremets, it freezes very well.
Light, airy diplomat cream
Variations of diplomat cream
The recipe I have proposed here is flavored with vanilla, but you can easily flavor it according to your taste.
For chocolate : Add 150 g of melted chocolate to the pastry cream and let it cool before incorporating the whipped cream. You will get a deliciously creamy chocolate diplomat cream.
For strawberry or raspberry : Replace some or all of the milk used in the pastry cream with strawberry coulis or seedless raspberry coulis.
Pistachio: For a pistachio version, add 50 g more or less of pistachio paste to the pastry cream.
With coffee : Flavor the milk used in the pastry cream with 25 g of instant coffee or to taste. You can also infuse crushed coffee beans in milk, then strain.
Coconut: Replace some or all of the milk with coconut milk.
This light, easy-to-make diplomat cream will become your favorite pastry cream.
Other recipes to try
- Strawberry charlotte cake
- Raspberry and vanilla charlotte cake
- French cherry Clafoutis
- Apricot crumble
Vanilla Diplomat Cream ( crème diplomate )
Ingredients :
- For a 20 cm ( 7.8 in ) x 4.5 cm (1.7 in) fraisier cake, make 2/3 of the recipe.
- 450 ml (15.2 oz) whole milk but any kind of milk works fine.
- 125 g (4.4 oz ) caster sugar
- 4 or 5 egg yolks depending on size (100 g ) (3.5 oz)
- 4 gelatin sheets 200 blooms 8 g (0.3 oz)
- 1 or 2 vanilla beans
- 30 g (1 oz )butter
- 50 g (1.7 oz )cornstarch
- 400 ml (13.5 oz ) heavy cream 32/35% fat
Instructions :
Start with the pastry cream, which you can make the day before.
- Put a little sugar in a saucepan and pour the milk over it. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, along with the split vanilla bean, to the milk. Adding a little sugar at the start will prevent the cream from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan
- Heat on medium heat until it starts to simmer without boiling. Remove from heat, strain and leave to infuse for at least 30 min.
- Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes while you prepare the pastry cream. Leave to swell.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. You can use a magic whisk or a regular whisk.
- Add the sifted cornstarch. whisk to smooth and combine. Do not overwhisk.
- Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove just before boiling, and pour a little over the egg mixture through a sieve. Mix well to blend the egg mixture with the milk.
- Add the remaining milk, stir and return the mixuture to the saucepan.
- Bring to medium heat, stirring constantly. The pastry cream will thicken gradually. Do not stop cooking just after it has thickened, but let it boil for one more minute. Remove the pastry cream from heat when it starts to form air bubbles. Stop whisking occasionally to check its progress.
- Off the heat, add the cold butter and stir to incorporate it. Once it has melted, add the well-squeezed gelatin.
- Pour the pastry cream in a thin layer into a wide dish and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. You can prepare it the day before for the next day. The next day, you will only need to finish preparing the diplomat cream.
- Whip the cold heavy cream at medium speed at first, and as soon as it is frothy, continue to whip at maximum speed. It should become firm with stiff peaks on the whisk. It shouldn't be too firm, otherwise you'll have difficulty incorporating it into the pastry cream.
- Smooth the pastry cream with an immersion blender or in the bowl of the stand mixer that you have emptied of the whipped cream. You can also use a hand mixer. It should become very smooth with no lumps.
- Add a good spatula of whipped cream to it and mix without precautions. Add a little more whipped cream and whisk until smooth.
- Pour it all back into the mixing bowl over the remaining whipped cream. Gently fold with a spatula from bottom to top to thoroughly combine the pastry cream and whipped cream.
- Your diplomat cream is ready, put it in a piping bag for immediate use, or set aside in the bowl, covered with paper wrap. Preferably use it within 2 hours after preparation.
- It's smoother and you'll create beautiful rosettes. To make pretty decorations with a piping bag, let it firm up a bit in the refrigerator for good stability. Once piped onto cupcakes, for example, or into a entremets, it freezes very well.
Thank you for your visit to my pastry blog and your comments.