Crème Diplomate (Diplomat Cream) 

Crème Diplomate, also known as diplomat cream is a super fluffy cream made of pastry cream and whipped cream. Use it as a frosting for cakes, a topping for pies, pavlovas or a filling for donuts, etc. 

This is the only type of cream my mom frosted her cakes with growing up so it is incredibly nostalgic for me. I adapted it recently to simplify my recipes but it honestly tastes the same. The only difference is that I replaced the custard base and with my new pastry cream recipe because that’s the ‘proper’ way to make it lol.

I use it quite often and you can find my mom’s version in her Famous Dobos Torte and my PREVIOUS VERSION in my Honey Lemon Cake, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Cranberry Orange Cake, Coffee Oreo Cake, double chocolate black forest cake, and Mango Cake.  All of those can also be made using this new version with the pastry cream – you will get the same results.

What is crème diplomate

As I mentioned before, this beauty is made up of a pastry cream combined with whipped cream/chantilly cream. You’ll notice some recipes say it’s custard combined with whipped cream. Pastry cream is a type of custard that generally has a higher milk/cream to egg ratio and uses the addition of flour or cornstarch to help thicken it, so terminology can be right both ways lol.

The base I’ve been using for diplomat cream for 5+ years (from my mom) is a simple thick custard made from egg yolks, sugar and butter so there’s no milk or cream, thus no need for cornstarch or flour.

HOWEVER, a traditional diplomat cream is made using pastry cream and since I have a new fabulous pastry cream recipe that is the base for so many creams, I tweaked my recipe to be more proper and it now uses traditional pastry cream as the base.

The amount of whipped cream used to mix with the pastry cream can vary a little. I stuck to the same ratio as my crème mousseline, 2:1 pastry to whipped cream. So one batch of my pastry cream weighs about 370 grams so I did about half of that in heavy cream which comes out to 180 mL or 3/4 cup.

If you like learning about types of creams, check out my cookbook Frosted for 14 base frosting recipes and 60 ways to customize them!

How To Make Diplomat Cream

Ingredients 

• Sugar: I use granulated sugar and this cream is not overly sweet so don’t cut the sugar. I haven’t tested it but I’m sure brown sugar would also work well. 
• Eggs: I use just egg yolks for this custard because you want it to be very thick and flavorful so it’s not too subtle or loose when combined with the whipped cream. 
• Cornstarch: I use cornstarch to thicken the pastry cream. You can adjust this amount per preference, read more about it my pastry cream post.
• Milk: I use whole milk but any kind of milk works fine.
• Butter: I use salted butter for this custard since it’s just a little but unsalted works fine too. I would add a tiny pinch of sea salt if you use unsalted. 
• Heavy Cream: heavy whipping cream is used to make the whipped cream, I recommend something between 35%-45% fat.
  • Make sure it’s cold straight from the fridge when you whip it. 
• Gelatin: technically gelatin is always used for crème diplomate. If it doesn’t have gelatin then it’s called crème légère.
• Vanilla: See below for different flavor options but for vanilla, I like to use vanilla bean paste. Vanilla extract and vanilla beans also work, the higher the quality the better the flavor. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Whisk together the eggs yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk well until the mixture is completely smooth and there are no lumps.
2. Add the cornstarch to the egg yolks with a splash of the milk and whisk until it’s completely smooth.
3. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, just until it starts hot and simmering.
4. Temper the eggs, by streaming the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking the eggs. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and whisk continuously over medium-low heat.
5. The pastry cream will begin to thicken after about just 2-3 minutes. At this point whisk aggressively for another 30-60 seconds.
6. Continue whisking while you remove the pan from heat and then pour it into a bowl. Give it another good whisk, making sure there are no lumps. 
7. Add the butter and vanilla and allow the heat from the pastry cream to melt the butter. It may separate at first but as you whisk, the pastry cream will come back together and should be smooth and silky. *if you have any lumps, feel free to press the pastry cream through a sieve while it’s still warm. 
8. Cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap and allow it to cool to room temperature – I don’t recommend refrigerating it because it’ll firm up too much. If it firms up too much, gently whisk it before adding it to the whipped cream so that it’s not chunky.
9. Whip the cream with the powdered sugar, just until it reaches stiff peaks.
10. Dissolve the gelatin in cold water and then once it’s bloomed/set, microwave it for about 5 seconds. Stir a little pastry cream into the gelatin until it’s well combined, then add the full gelatin mixture to the pastry cream, stirring until it’s well combined.
11. Loosen the pastry cream with a little whipped cream and then fold in the rest of the whipped cream, mixing just until they’re fully combined. Use the cream as desired.

How to flavor Crème Diplomate

There’s a few different methods you can use to flavor diplomat cream. The first is by whisking in 2-4 Tbsp (20-40g) cocoa powder into the pastry cream with the cornstarch. You can also mix in melted chocolate chips/chocolate bars. 

Mix in lemon curd, citrus zest, freeze dried ground fruit, Nutella, peanut butter, cookie butter, etc after it’s finished. At the top of this blog post I linked all the ways I used diplomat cream and you can see how I flavored those ones too. Also check out my cookbook for more options but it’s basically the same as flavoring any buttercream, except use less add-ins. Although the base for my previous diplomat cream is a little different, they can be used the same.

You can also steep the heavy whipping cream with vanilla, chai spices, teas, etc. before whipping it to give it flavor. Just make sure it’s cold when you go to whip.

How to use crème Diplomate

Creme diplomate is almost as light as chantilly cream so you can use it in place of any whipped topping. When using gelatin, it’s going to “set” the same way a stabilized whipped cream would after refrigerating so keep that in mind.

It can also be used in place of a lighter buttercream as well. For instance, I’ve seen people use it in a Fraisier Cake but it will be slightly less stable than crème mousseline. It would also be great in traditional tiramisu or my tiramisu cake if you prefer a cooked cream – I’ve done that before and even added mascarpone to the diplomat cream. 

It could be used to frost cupcakes, fill cookie sandwiches, brownies, etc but keep in mind it won’t hold it’s shape quite as well as a buttercream.

It also won’t be as stable out of the fridge so I recommend pairing it with a type of cake that serves well chilled like an oil based cake or any type of sponge cake, like a genoise or biscuit sponge.

I wouldn’t really pair this with a traditional American creamed butter cake because they are served better at room temperature but the cream is better served cold.

I did use diplomat cream in my Mango Cake, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Honey Lemon Cake and White Chocolate Orange Cranberry Cake.

Make this with Cool Whip

Putting this option in here because if you know my mom, her creams are all made with diplomat cream. I shared several of her recipes on here but to make selling cakes easier, she uses Cool Whip.

I would replace the heavy cream, powdered sugar and gelatin with an 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip because that’s already stabilized and it holds up even better. Make sure you’re using Cool Whip and not something off brand and make sure it’s the full-fat version. 

The cream is thicker initially if you use Cool Whip because it’s already stabilized but the cream made with heavy cream and gelatin only sets once it’s in the fridge.

How to store a crème diplomate?

I don’t like to make creams ahead of time in general because they’re just easier to work with fresh, but it can be done. I recommend making the pastry cream portion ahead of time (like just 1-2 days), you can refrigerate it but then bring it back closer to room temperature and gently whisk it so it’s not lumpy before mixing with the whipped cream. 

Since diplomat cream is made with gelatin, once it goes in the fridge it sets so I recommend using it fresh and whatever you use it for (like in a cake), needs to be refrigerated.

I have frozen cakes that had diplomat cream as a filling (with a buttercream frosting on the outside) and have not had any problems with it once defrosted.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. 

If you enjoyed this crème diplomate, I’d love it if you left a 5-star rating for me or a review below!

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B