Preparation
1. Let’s start with the preparation that needs to stay in the refrigerator the longest, which is the feuillantine shortbread. In the bowl of your mixer, mix all your softened butters with your sugar and almond powder. Once it is creamy, incorporate your flour in several times without giving too much texture to your dough, then quickly mix in your gavottes. Roll out your dough to 0.5 cm between 2 sheets of parchment paper and reserve it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Let’s now make our craquelin. Mix your sugar with your butter, then add your flour and knead it a little but not too much so that the ingredients are well blended together. Roll it out also between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Put it in the refrigerator for only 15 minutes while you prepare the choux pastry.
3. In your pot, boil your water and add your diced butter and let it melt. Then add your flour at once and mix vigorously. Dry your dough for 2-3 minutes, then remove it to a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat your eggs. Then gradually incorporate them into your dough. Mix well so that the egg does not coagulate. Put your dough in a pastry bag with its tip. Make medium-sized choux. Take out your craquelin and use a cookie cutter to cut small rounds that you will place on top of your choux. Bake and let cook for about 15 minutes but watch your oven as each one is different. When your choux are cooked, do not take them out, instead open the door of your oven and let them dry this way. Then put them on a wire rack.
4. The diplomat cream is a derivative of pastry cream. Put your gelatin in a bowl of cold water to rehydrate it. In a large bowl, whisk your egg yolks with your sugar and then your flour. Boil your milk, then add it to your mixture. Put everything back on the stove and cook until you get a thick cream. The pastry cream is cooked when it is like a volcano in your pot. Then drain your gelatin and mix it into your pastry cream. Put it in a container and cover it by placing plastic wrap on it. Leave it at room temperature. It must cool down but not turn into jelly. Then whip your heavy cream with your powdered sugar, and incorporate it into our still slightly warm pastry cream. That’s it, the diplomat cream is ready. Put it in the refrigerator.
5. In your mixer bowl, put your liquid cream along with your mascarpone and your sugar. Whip your cream and put it directly into a pastry bag with its tip then set aside in the refrigerator.
6. Then make a dry caramel, which means putting your sugar in your pot and letting it dissolve then turn golden and poach your choux in it.
Finally, now cook your feuillantine shortbread at 160 °C , which you will have previously cut into squares of 8 x 6 cm. All your preparations are ready, all that’s left is to create a beautiful assembly as you wish!