Let’s get back to pastry school basics with this simple recipe for French Crème Diplomate. Also known as Diplomat Cream in English, this dreamy pastry filling is ethereally light and creamy, but stabilized with gelatin so you can pipe it into pretty designs.
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If you’re serious about upskilling your home baking game, you need to learn to learn about various French pastry creams! This diplomate cream is merely my most recent addition of creamy filling recipes, and it’s one you’ll turn to again and again. The instructors and pastry chefs at my culinary school would always recommend making a classic diplomat cream as a delicious addition to choux buns, fruit tarts or cream cakes!
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s recap. What bechamel is to the savory French “mother” sauces, Crème Pâtissière is to French pastry. Also known simply as “pastry cream,” this delectable custard is the base for countless fillings including crème légère, crème mousseline, crème chiboust, and — you guessed it — this diplomat cream recipe.
You might notice that my creme diplomat recipe is quite similar to my recipe for creme legere. The primary difference is diplomat cream is much more stable than legere thanks to the addition of gelatin in the whipped cream. The extra stability makes it ideal for piping onto cakes or cupcakes, in layered trifles, or as a filling for cream puffs.
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Diplomat Cream Recipe
- Quick & Simple. In total, you’ll only need to spend about 30 minutes of active time in the kitchen to make a batch.
- Super Versatile. Like many other French cream fillings, cream diplomat has dozens of potential use cases. Whether you want to make a layer cake or a fruit tart, a cream puff or a pie, this recipe has your back!
- Endlessly Customizable. If you can infuse a flavor into milk, you can make that flavor of creme diplomate. The possibilities are endless!
🍴Ingredients
- Crème Pâtissière - Simply made with egg yolks, whole milk, a vanilla bean (or vanilla paste or vanilla extract), and a few pantry staples, this 15-minute French pastry cream recipe will unlock a whole world of flavor!
- Cold Heavy Cream - Heavy cream is essentially rich whipping cream — the former must have a minimum of 36% milk fat, while the latter can range between 30-36%. In this case, the more fat, the better!
- Gelatin & Water - Gelatin needs water to “bloom.” If possible, use filtered water for the cleanest taste.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
⏲️ Substitutions & Variations
- Flavor the Pastry Cream. While vanilla pastry cream is classic, you can infuse the milk in the recipe with nearly any flavor you can think of, resulting in a nearly infinite number of creme diplomat variations! The pastry cream recipes could include a fresh vanilla pod, fresh fruit or fruit puree, or chocolate pastry cream. Think floral rose, citrusy lemon, bold coffee, or rich chocolate diplomat cream as the final creation!
- Vegetarian Diplomat Cream. Since gelatin is derived from the skin and bones of animals, the recipe as written below is not suitable for vegetarians. Simply swap in an equal amount of Unflavored Vegan Jel by Natural Desserts to keep it vegetarian-friendly.
- Dairy-Free/Lactose-Free. Use any of the plant-based substitutions for milk and butter as listed in the pastry cream recipe and swap in vegan whipping cream for all the flavor without the dairy.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
📖 How to Make Crème Diplomate: Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make Pastry Cream. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface & refrigerate until well chilled.
Step 2: Bloom & Temper Gelatin. Place the water and gelatin in a small bowl and mix to combine. Microwave or cook in a saucepan over medium heat until melted but not boiling and temper with a few tablespoons of heavy cream.
Step 3: Whip Cream. Add cold cream into a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment. Pour in the tempered gelatin-cream mixture and start beating until soft peaks and then stiff peaks form.
Step 4: Combine the stabilized whipped cream and the chilled pastry cream, mixing and whisking vigorously until combined and smooth.
Step 5: Chill- Allow the whipped pastry cream to chill in the fridge until set then use the french diplomat cream in all your favorite pastry recipes such as choux à la crème, tart filling or as a cake filling between cake layers!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Start cold. This applies to all steps from start to finish! Start with cold eggs when making your creme patissiere — it allows you to separate them with less of a chance of puncturing the yolks. Make sure to chill the pastry cream entirely before adding the stabilized whipped cream, or the warmth will melt it. Start with cold cream for added stability — cold fat can hold the air bubbles you whip in, while warm or room temperature fat is softer and more likely to collapse.
- Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. While you technically *can* use a balloon whisk and sheer determination, getting your whipped cream to stiff peaks is easier with a little assistance.
- Use a piping bag. The whole point of creme diplomate is that it is stable enough to pipe! Take advantage for more aesthetically pleasing desserts.
💭 Recipe FAQs
While both are quite similar, the primary difference is that Bavarian cream starts with crème anglaise, which is thinner than the pastry cream we use for Diplomat cream. Crème pâtissière is essentially crème anglaise that has been thickened with cornstarch.
That’s the French word for “diplomat.” Don’t you just love when something is what it sounds like?
Crème is the French word for cream.
I don’t recommend it. Since there is already a decent amount of sugar in the pastry cream base, you don’t need added sugar in the whipped cream.
Transfer your diplomat cream to a clean, airtight container that doesn’t have any old food smells. (If you can smell it before you put the cream in, you’ll be able to taste it by the time you take the cream out!) It should keep well in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. To use, allow to defrost overnight in the fridge, then pipe as desired.
More French Recipes You’ll Love
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Crème Diplomate (French Diplomat Cream)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups (976 g) Whole milk
- 1 Vanilla Bean
- 5 (90 g) Egg Yolks
- ⅔ cup (133 g) Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup (64 g) Cornstarch
- Pinch Kosher Salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) Unsalted Butter
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 2 teaspoons Gelatin
- 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream, cold
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan, add your scraped vanilla bean and milk together and bring to a simmer.4 cups Whole milk, 1 Vanilla Bean
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt together in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture lightens in color and becomes a pale yellow.5 Egg Yolks, ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar, ½ cup Cornstarch, Pinch Kosher Salt
- Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in the hot milk to the egg mixture together until homogenous.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat.
- When the pastry cream comes to a boil, continue to whisk constantly and boil for up to 2 minutes. The pastry cream should reach 200F.
- Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter and mix until the butter is melted and mixed into the cream.3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Cover with plastic film placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge to cool.
- Place the water and gelatin in a small bowl and mix to combine. Microwave until melted but not boiling and temper with a few tablespoons of heavy cream (only 2 tablespoons).3 tablespoons Water, 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream, 2 teaspoons Gelatin
- Add the remaining cold cream (1 ¾ cup) into a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment - pour in the tempered gelatin and start mixing until stiff peaks form.
- Add the stabilized whipped cream into the chilled and set pastry cream, mixing and whisking until combined and smooth. Allow to chill until set then use in your pastry recipes!
Notes
- Start cold. This applies to all steps from start to finish! Start with cold eggs when making your creme patissiere — it allows you to separate them with less of a chance of puncturing the yolks. Make sure to chill the pastry cream entirely before adding the stabilized whipped cream, or the warmth will melt it. Start with cold cream for added stability — cold fat can hold the air bubbles you whip in, while warm or room temperature fat is softer and more likely to collapse.
- Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. While you technically *can* use a balloon whisk and sheer determination, getting your whipped cream to stiff peaks is easier with a little assistance.
- Use a piping bag. The whole point of creme diplomate is that it is stable enough to pipe! Take advantage for more aesthetically pleasing desserts.
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