Crème Diplomate
Pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and gelatin
Pastry cream folded with whipped cream, set lightly with gelatin so it holds in a tart shell. Lighter than mousseline and much less rich — the cream in a fruit tart or a trifle.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Crème Pâtissière (see Crème Pâtissière), cold
- 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave to bloom for 5 minutes.
- Warm about 1/2 cup of the pastry cream gently, stir in the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved, then whisk this back into the rest of the pastry cream. Work quickly so it does not set in streaks.
- Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks — not stiff, or the fold will be lumpy.
- Fold a third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream to slacken it, then fold in the rest in two additions with a light hand.
- Use immediately, before the gelatin sets. It firms in about 4 hours in the fridge.
Notes
- Leave out the gelatin for an unset version to spoon rather than slice.
- With no gelatin and equal parts cream it is closer to a crème légère.