Would you like a piece of my quick diplomatic cake?! Today I want to pamper you with one of my mom’s favorite desserts! The diplomatic cake, a classic of Italian pastry.
Every time I make it at home it’s a party because everyone loves it! This time, however, I decided to make it in a quick version!
Have you ever had to prepare a dessert at the last minute? I have, and every time I never know what to do to optimize the timing! The quick diplomatic cake with ladyfingers is the perfect choice!
Quick millefoglie cake is really beautiful, delicious, and easy to make! No sponge cake as the traditional recipe requires. I replaced it with ladyfingers for a stunning result! If you don’t like ladyfingers, you can use pavesini or pre-made cake bases.
In the classic recipe, the diplomatic cake is filled with pastry cream and chantilly cream. This time I opted for a simple lemon-scented cream.
Quick millefoglie can be brought to the table and cut at serving time. Or portioned in advance by cutting into squares. The diplomatic cake is one of those perfect desserts for any occasion! As a dessert for the Sunday lunch! For Mother’s Day, a birthday, various parties, and celebrations!
Do you feel like trying it? Here are the ingredients with step-by-step photos!
More delicious recipes you can’t miss!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Portions: about 10-12 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks (from medium eggs)
- 1 l whole milk (fresh)
- 230 g sugar
- 80 g cornstarch
- lemon zest (from a medium-sized lemon)
- 2 rolls puff pastry
- as needed powdered sugar
- 200 g ladyfingers (about)
- 1 glass alchermes (or half Alchermes and half water; about 200 g)
Tools
- Ladle
- Saucepan
- Baking Sheet
- Whisk
- Bowl
- Spatula
Steps
Place a saucepan on the stove with the fresh whole milk.
Grate in the zest of half a well-washed organic lemon.
Turn the heat to low and let it go.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and the other half of the grated lemon zest.
Whisk vigorously with a hand whisk until you get a light and frothy mixture.
If you prefer, you can use an electric mixer.
While continuing to whisk, add the sifted cornstarch a little at a time and mix.
Meanwhile, the milk has become very hot (be careful, it should not boil).
Pour over the whipped yolk mixture, stir immediately to combine, and pour everything back into the saucepan.
Put the saucepan back on the stove and cook the cream, stirring continuously.
It will take about 10 minutes. As soon as it starts to thicken and “puff,” remove it immediately from the heat.
Immediately pour the cream into a ceramic or glass bowl (not plastic).
Cover with food wrap and let it cool completely.
While the lemon cream cools, we just need to bake the sheets.
Take the two rectangular rolls of puff pastry.
Unroll the first one and place it on a baking tray with all the parchment paper.
Pierce the surface with a fork to prevent it from puffing up too much during baking.
Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar, which helps make the sheets shinier (and tastier!).
Bake in a preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes at 356°F, in static mode.
As soon as it starts to color, remove it immediately and let it cool on a rack.
Follow the same procedure for the other sheet.
Of course, if your oven can hold both sheets, bake them together.
To see the video recipe, join me here: Full video on how to make the quick diplomatic cake
Everything is ready!! We just need to assemble the diplomatic cake
To know precisely how many ladyfingers I needed before soaking them, I arranged them on the sheet!
Me and my obsession with precision! But you don’t have to!! You’ll need about 200 grams.
Place the first sheet on a serving platter and pour half of the cream on top.
With the help of a spatula, spread it evenly over the entire surface.
Pour the Alchermes into a small bowl (if you prefer, you can dilute it with water).
For a non-alcoholic soak, you can use orange juice.
Dip the ladyfingers in the Alchermes without soaking them too much, but not too little either.
Arrange the ladyfingers on the layer of cream until it is completely covered.
Pour the remaining cream over it, level it, and place the second puff pastry sheet on top.
A generous sprinkling of powdered sugar, and your quick version of diplomatic cake is ready!
I chose to serve it already cut into squares for convenience!
Now you just have to enjoy this delicious diplomatic cake with ladyfingers!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Enjoy your meal, everyone!
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
FAQ
Do the sheets become soft and lose their crispness?
It’s a completely normal reaction once the millefoglie is assembled. Both the pastry cream and the soaked sponge cake (in the original version, or the ladyfingers in the quick version) release moisture, and the sheets absorb it, losing their crispy and flaky characteristic.
To avoid this, the dessert should be assembled shortly before consumption so that it remains perfect.How far in advance can I prepare the diplomatic cake?
Very little! Or rather, you can have all the ingredients ready to use, but you should assemble the dessert shortly before serving it.
You can prepare the pastry cream even the day before and store it in the fridge covered with wrap.
You can bake the sheets, for example, in the morning and then fill the dessert only just before bringing it to the table. At most, half an hour/an hour before, otherwise, the sheet absorbs the moisture from the cream and the soaked ladyfingers and ends up losing its crunch!How do you store homemade diplomatic cake?
So, you should put it in a container with a hermetic seal and store it in the fridge. You can surely enjoy it the next day, but then it softens, losing all crispness.
Can I freeze the millefoglie?
I’ve never done it because it never lasts more than a day!! However, some people do keep it in the freezer. In this case, for practicality, you can prepare mini portions and put each piece in paper molds. Arrange the single portions on a tray and put it in a food bag.
Store in the freezer until it’s time to enjoy the dessert. To defrost the millefoglie cake, you can proceed in two ways: leave it at room temperature for about 4 hours. Or put it in the fridge for about 10 hours.How do you cut homemade diplomatic cake?
To cut a millefoglie cake more easily, you’ll definitely need a well-sharpened knife!
The more experienced can use either a smooth blade or a serrated one. The less expert can use a serrated knife for a more precise cut.
In this case, take the knife, vertically cut the diplomatic cake, and make strips of your preferred width.
Each strip can then also be cut two or three times until you get mini diplomatic cakes that you can place in paper cups.
