Learn how to make the BEST classic vanilla diplomat cream with vanilla pastry cream! My classic vanilla pastry cream is a favorite with my readers! While I adore pastry cream, I actually love to use diplomat cream in my recipes even more. I’ve shared a lot of recipes on the blog that use diplomat cream, including my classic eclairs, salted caramel choux au craquelin, banana pudding, and salted caramel and chocolate crepe cake. So, I figured it was time to share a step by step recipe on how to make classic diplomat cream.
Types of custard recipes
You can read more about this in my in-depth article on types of custard.
Creme Anglaise is a pouring custard that resembles a thick sauce, and can be poured over desserts. Creme Chantilly is a sweetened whipped cream, usually flavored with vanilla. Pastry Cream or Creme Patissiere is a thicker custard. Used as a filling for many pastries, and the most popular type of custard. Creme Legere is a pastry cream with sweetened whipped cream added. Creme Diplomat or diplomat cream is creme patissiere mixed with chantilly (sweetened whipped cream), gelatine and any extra flavorings (optional). It’s basically creme legere made with stabilized whipped cream. Creme Bavarois (Bavarian Cream) is a dessert on its own. It’s like panna cotta, but made with creme patissiere. It’s creme patissiere mixed with chantilly, but with extra gelatine (so that it sets like a pudding).
Here, I’ll be showing you how to make Classic Creme Diplomat or Diplomat Cream. That is pastry cream (custard), mixed with stabilized whipped cream.
How to make diplomat cream
There are 3 steps to making diplomat cream.
How to make pastry cream
Making pastry cream is very easy. I’ve shares a very detailed recipe for vanilla pastry cream (creme patissiere) before. But here are some key points.
Heat the milk with sugar, until almost boiling. Whisk the eggs, yolks, and cornstarch together until smooth. (You can also add the sugar here instead of with the milk in the previous step.) Temper the egg with the hot milk mixture. Cook the egg and milk mixture over medium heat, while whisking very frequently as the pastry cream thickens. If the mixture curdles, you could end up with a grainy custard. Whisk until the pastry cream has thickened, and check whether it has come to a boil (bubbles breaking the surface). Let the custard boil for about 1 – 2 minutes on low heat while whisking continuously. Remove from the heat, and place the custard/pastry cream in a bowl. Cover the custard with plastic wrap, making sure the entire surface is in direct contact with the plastic wrap. Chill completely in the fridge.
For classic diplomat cream, it’s important to use a flavorful vanilla pastry cream. The pastry cream that I make for diplomat cream also has more cornstarch than my regular pastry cream. That’s because you need this pastry cream base to be thicker. If the pastry cream is too thin, the final diplomat cream will also be too runny. When the pastry cream has chilled and set overnight, you will find that it has the consistency of a set pudding. This thicker custard will have the right consistency once the whipped cream is folded in.
How to make stabilized chantilly cream
To make classic vanilla diplomat cream, sweetened whipped cream is mixed with vanilla pastry cream. To make stabilized chantilly cream, you will need,
Heavy cream (at least 35% fat) White sugar or confectioner’s sugar Gelatin (bloomed in water)
Make sure the cream and the mixing bowl are chilled well. This will ensure that the cream whips up smoothly. Mix the cream and sugar together in the bowl, and keep in the fridge until needed. Bloom the gelatin in the water for about 10 minutes. Microwave the mixture just enough to melt the gelatin, but do not let it boil. This may take about 10 – 20 seconds. While stirring the gelatin mixture, add about 1 – 2 tbsp chilled cream to temper the hot gelatin mixture. Whisk the cream and sugar mixture with an electric hand mixer on high speed initially. Quickly add the gelatin mixture into the cream mixture, and immediately mix it into the cream. If the gelatin is poured onto the whisks, or isn’t whisked in immediately, you may get gelatin chunks in the cream instead of smooth whipped cream. Once the gelatin is mixed in, lower the speed to medium or medium high, and whisk until the whipped cream has soft peaks. To avoid over-whisking the cream (and curdling), I prefer to manually whisk the heavy cream from soft peak to stiff peaks. The stabilized whipped cream is ready to be used immediately when you have a smooth whipped cream with stiff peaks. Now you can make classic diplomat cream!
How to make vanilla diplomat cream
Whisk the chilled vanilla pastry cream to make it smooth. Since it’s set, it will be a little lumpy, so whisking it will help make the custard smooth and easy to mix. Add about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the pastry cream and whisk it in. This will lighten the pastry cream, and make it easier to fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Add the rest of the whipped cream in 2 – 3 additions, and fold it through the vanilla pastry cream to make vanilla diplomat cream. Use immediately.
How to use vanilla diplomat cream
The consistency of this diplomat cream is soft, but can also maintain its shape when piped. It’s not firm enough to be a filling for cakes (without a buttercream dam), but can be used for mille feuille. Because of the gelatin, the diplomat cream will eventually “set” gently over time (faster in the fridge).
Vanilla pudding / vanilla mousse
I can totally admit that I sometimes make diplomat cream and eat it as a dessert just as is! It’s pretty much like a lighter vanilla pudding or a vanilla version of this chocolate mousse. So you can portion the diplomat cream into individual dishes and serve as a lighter pudding.
As a filling for eclairs or profiteroles
This classic diplomat cream is an amazing filling for my choux pastry recipe! It’s a lighter version of classic pastry cream. It tastes and feels like ice cream that isn’t too cold! Great as a filling for chocolate eclairs and profiteroles.
Tart filling
This also makes for a very creamy filling for tart recipes, like these brioche tarts and my strawberry tart made with sweet tart dough (pâte sucrée).
Cake filling
This will be a great cake filling for a 2 or 3 layered vanilla cake. However, make sure the cake layers have a buttercream dam around the edge first.
To make trifles
Instead of vanilla pastry cream, you can use this classic diplomat cream to make trifles. You can also infuse the milk with bananas to make homemade banana pudding, or infuse the milk with other flavors to make different flavored diplomat creams for various trifles.
Flavor variations
Chocolate diplomat cream – Make the chocolate pastry cream here, and fold into the chantilly cream. Tea infused diplomat cream – Infuse the milk with about 2 – 3 tbsp loose tea (or 3 – 4 tea bags). Make the pastry cream with the infused milk (make sure you’re using the right amount of milk). See here for my earl grey diplomat cream. Coffee diplomat cream – Infuse the milk with ground coffee, or melt instant coffee. Make the pastry cream with the flavored milk. Matcha diplomat cream – Dissolve about 2 – 3 tsp of matcha powder (more for a stronger flavor) in the milk. Salted caramel diplomat cream – Follow my choux au craquelin recipe post to make salted caramel diplomat cream. The sugar is made into a caramel base first, before adding milk.
Why I love this recipe
I’m a sucker for pastry cream, and anything that uses pastry cream! You can also check out my vanilla pastry cream and chocolate pastry cream recipes to see how popular they are with my readers! This classic diplomat cream is super delicious, with a strong vanilla flavor. But it’s also delightfully lighter because of the whipped cream. I love how perfectly sweet this dessert is on its own. But it’s also versatile enough to be used with other desserts (like in the profiteroles that I made for my choux au craquelin). Once you learn how to make a proper vanilla custard, it opens up so many possibilities for other desserts! So go ahead and give this recipe a go, and let me know how you like it! 🙂
