Diplomatica

The Diplomatica cake is a classic Italian dessert that combines puff pastry with sponge cake, enriched with custard and chantilly cream. Let’s look at the ingredients and how to prepare it.

Ingredients

• 500 g of puff pastry
• 200 g of sponge cake
• 500 ml of milk
• 150 g of sugar
• 40 g of type 00 flour
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla pod (or vanilla extract)
• 250 ml of fresh cream to whip
• Powdered sugar for decoration
• Maraschino liqueur or another alcoholic beverage for soaking (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the custard cream: heat the milk with the slit vanilla pod to release the seeds, or with the vanilla extract. In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until you get a light and fluffy mixture. Add the sifted flour and mix well.
2. Pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Put the mixture back on the heat and, still stirring, bring the cream to the desired thickness. Once ready, cover with cling film in contact and let it cool.
3. Whip the fresh cream with a little powdered sugar to obtain the chantilly cream.
4. When the custard has cooled, gently fold in the chantilly cream, mixing from the bottom up so as not to deflate the mixture.
5. Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into two rectangles of equal size; bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions until golden (about 20 minutes at 200 °C). Once ready, let it cool.
6. Cut the sponge cake to match the format of the pastry rectangles and, if desired, soak it with the liqueur diluted in a little water.
7. Assemble the cake by alternating a layer of puff pastry, a layer of soaked sponge cake, and a generous layer of cream. Top with the last layer of puff pastry and dust with plenty of powdered sugar.
8. For a classic presentation, you can heat some powdered sugar until it becomes a soft caramel and use a hot iron to create a striped design on the surface (the typical burnt effect of Diplomatica).

Place it in the refrigerator a few hours before serving to allow the cake to stabilize.

Curiosity

The Diplomatica cake gets its name from the fact that it was historically served at diplomatic meetings for its elegance and sophistication. It is a variation of the well-known mille-feuille and can sometimes be found with the addition of candied fruit or jelly to enrich it further.