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Diplomat Mille-feuille

17/11/2023

The diplomat mille-feuille is an elegant and delicious variant of the classic mille-feuille, combining the lightness of sponge cake with the crispiness of puff pastry, all enriched with custard cream and whipped cream. Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients

  • 500 g of puff pastry
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 80 g of sugar
  • 30 g of flour
  • 500 ml of milk
  • 1 vanilla pod (or vanilla extract)
  • 250 g of fresh cream to be whipped
  • Icing sugar for decorating
  • A few drops of liquor to taste (rum or Maraschino) for flavoring (optional)

For the sponge cake (if you decide to make it at home):

  • 3 eggs
  • 90 g of sugar
  • 90 g of flour

Preparation

  1. Start with the preparation of the sponge cake, if you choose to make it at home. Beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is foamy and pale. Gently fold in the sifted flour, incorporating it with movements from bottom to top so as not to deflate the mixture. Pour into a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 15 minutes. Let cool.

  2. For the puff pastry, roll it out thinly and bake at 200 °C until golden and crispy (about 15 minutes). Subsequently, cut it into rectangles or squares of the desired size.

  3. Prepare the custard cream: in a saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until you have a pale and foamy mixture. Add the sifted flour and continue to mix. Heat the milk with the vanilla without bringing it to a boil and gradually combine it with the yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, continuing to stir, until the cream thickens. At the end of cooking, if you wish, you can add liquor to flavor the cream. Let cool, covering with cling film touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

  4. Whip the fresh cream without adding sugar, as the sweetness will be balanced by the custard cream and puff pastry.

  5. Assembly: alternate layers of sponge cake, custard cream, and whipped cream, then cover with a rectangle of puff pastry. Continue until you have at least three layers, ending with puff pastry. Dust the top layer with plenty of icing sugar.

  6. Leave the dessert in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving so that the layers stabilize.

Curiosity

The diplomat mille-feuille is a variant of the more famous classic mille-feuille. Its uniqueness lies in the combination of different textures and the delicate harmony of cream and cream. In France, it is known as “mille-feuille diplomate” and is often enriched with fruit or decorated with artistic icing. It is a dessert that is splendidly suitable for special occasions and elegant dinners, offering a moment of pure pleasure to the most refined palates.