Carol’s Recipe: Dessert with almonds, praline, and vanilla.

Diplomatic cream: Prepare a pastry cream: Heat the milk with the praline. In a bowl, mix the cornstarch with the sugar, add the egg yolks and mix. When the milk boils, pour it over the egg yolks. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil again over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Transfer to a deep dish, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and place in the fridge. Once the pastry cream is cold, whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks. Whip the pastry cream to loosen it and fold in the whipped cream gradually using a spatula. Place in a piping bag. Refrigerate.

The success cookie: In a food processor, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and gradually add 50 g of granulated sugar. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining granulated sugar, ground almonds, and cornstarch. Gradually fold the egg whites into this mixture in three additions, using a spatula and scraping the sides of the bowl. Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a plain nozzle and form 3 disks of the desired size on parchment paper. Here, 22 cm. Bake in a preheated oven at 190° for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.

Assembly: Cut the 3 cookies to the appropriate size using the chosen mold. In the chosen mold, place the first cookie layer. Pipe a generous third of the diplomat cream. Cover with the second cookie layer. Pipe another generous third of the diplomat cream. Cover with the third cookie layer. Pipe the last small third of the diplomat cream. Refrigerate until serving. Unmold and dust with powdered sugar.

To finish: I remind you that the true version is usually made with buttercream. It is better to finish with the cake rather than the cream, as the powdered sugar will remain and will not melt!