Crème Diplomate
Crème Diplomate is basically Crème Pâtissière combined with Crème Chantilly. It is lighter than Crème Pâtissière but still has the rich taste of fresh custard; I use this for filling choux pastry and millefeuilles.
Crème pâtissière
Ingredients
300 mls whole milk
1 vanilla pod or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla essence
3 egg yolks
50g sugar
20g plain flour
20g cornflour
Small knob of butter
30 mls cointreau (optional)
Method
1. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the beans, then add the pod and beans to the milk in a heavy based saucepan. (If using vanilla essence, add that instead of the pod and beans).
2. Bring the milk to the boil; once it has boiled take it off the heat.
3. While the milk is heating up, whisk together the 3 yolks with 50g of sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is pale and creamy. (This should take less than a minute).
4. Add 20g of plain flour and 20g of cornflour to the yolk and sugar mixture and combine it all in with a whisk.
5. Add ¼ of the boiled milk to the yolk mixture in the bowl and mix well, then slowly add the remaining milk while continuing to mix.
6. Remove and discard the vanilla pod, then transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring well all the time, or else you will end up with a lumpy mixture. Continue heating until it becomes thick and starts to boil, then take it off the heat and transfer to a clean bowl to cool it down in the fridge. (Rub a tiny knob of butter over the surface to prevent a skin from forming over the surface of the custard).
7. After the custard has cooled down (about 30 minutes in the fridge), whisk it with an electric whisk, and then add the cointreau while continuing to whisk; don't get tempted to add extra cointreau as it will make the custard too runny.
Crème Chantilly
Ingredients
300mls whipping cream
30g icing sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla essence
Method
To make the Crème Chantilly: whisk together the cream, sugar and vanilla essence until it is at the floppy stage – i.e. thick but not stiff.
To make the Crème Diplomate:
Add the Crème Chantilly ¼ at a time to the Crème Pâtissière while whisking on a low speed.
