diff --git a/test/e2e/clusterctl_upgrade.go b/test/e2e/clusterctl_upgrade.go
index d38f2b4ad77f..242cad4f747e 100644
--- a/test/e2e/clusterctl_upgrade.go
+++ b/test/e2e/clusterctl_upgrade.go
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ func ClusterctlUpgradeSpec(ctx context.Context, inputGetter func() ClusterctlUpg
 		Expect(workloadClusterTemplate).ToNot(BeNil(), "Failed to get the cluster template")
 
 		log.Logf("Applying the cluster template yaml to the cluster")
-		Expect(managementClusterProxy.Apply(ctx, workloadClusterTemplate)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(managementClusterProxy.Create(ctx, workloadClusterTemplate)).To(Succeed())
 
 		if input.PreWaitForCluster != nil {
 			By("Running PreWaitForCluster steps against the management cluster")
diff --git a/test/e2e/kcp_remediations.go b/test/e2e/kcp_remediations.go
index 64fc229b0b59..5d350f2c353a 100644
--- a/test/e2e/kcp_remediations.go
+++ b/test/e2e/kcp_remediations.go
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ func createWorkloadClusterAndWait(ctx context.Context, input createWorkloadClust
 	Expect(workloadClusterTemplate).ToNot(BeNil(), "Failed to get the cluster template")
 
 	Eventually(func() error {
-		return input.Proxy.Apply(ctx, workloadClusterTemplate)
+		return input.Proxy.Create(ctx, workloadClusterTemplate)
 	}, 10*time.Second).Should(Succeed(), "Failed to apply the cluster template")
 
 	log.Logf("Waiting for the cluster infrastructure to be provisioned")
diff --git a/test/framework/cluster_proxy.go b/test/framework/cluster_proxy.go
index 0c30dbec68da..13be52e51724 100644
--- a/test/framework/cluster_proxy.go
+++ b/test/framework/cluster_proxy.go
@@ -30,7 +30,9 @@ import (
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	kerrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/errors"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
@@ -45,6 +47,7 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test/framework/exec"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test/framework/internal/log"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test/infrastructure/container"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/util/yaml"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -90,6 +93,9 @@ type ClusterProxy interface {
 	// Apply to apply YAML to the Kubernetes cluster, `kubectl apply`.
 	Apply(ctx context.Context, resources []byte, args ...string) error
 
+	// Create creates using the controller-runtime client.
+	Create(ctx context.Context, resources []byte) error
+
 	// GetWorkloadCluster returns a proxy to a workload cluster defined in the Kubernetes cluster.
 	GetWorkloadCluster(ctx context.Context, namespace, name string) ClusterProxy
 
@@ -247,6 +253,27 @@ func (p *clusterProxy) Apply(ctx context.Context, resources []byte, args ...stri
 	return exec.KubectlApply(ctx, p.kubeconfigPath, resources, args...)
 }
 
+// Create creates using the controller-runtime client.
+func (p *clusterProxy) Create(ctx context.Context, resources []byte) error {
+	Expect(ctx).NotTo(BeNil(), "ctx is required for Create")
+	Expect(resources).NotTo(BeNil(), "resources is required for Create")
+
+	var retErrs []error
+	objs, err := yaml.ToUnstructured(resources)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	for o := range objs {
+		if err := p.GetClient().Create(ctx, &objs[o]); err != nil {
+			if apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+				continue
+			}
+			retErrs = append(retErrs, err)
+		}
+	}
+	return kerrors.NewAggregate(retErrs)
+}
+
 func (p *clusterProxy) GetRESTConfig() *rest.Config {
 	config, err := clientcmd.LoadFromFile(p.kubeconfigPath)
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to load Kubeconfig file from %q", p.kubeconfigPath)
diff --git a/test/framework/clusterctl/clusterctl_helpers.go b/test/framework/clusterctl/clusterctl_helpers.go
index 677afaa0c745..ff4b77e2a6df 100644
--- a/test/framework/clusterctl/clusterctl_helpers.go
+++ b/test/framework/clusterctl/clusterctl_helpers.go
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ func ApplyClusterTemplateAndWait(ctx context.Context, input ApplyClusterTemplate
 		cniYaml, err := os.ReadFile(input.CNIManifestPath)
 		Expect(err).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
 
-		Expect(workloadCluster.Apply(ctx, cniYaml)).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(workloadCluster.Create(ctx, cniYaml)).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
 	}
 
 	log.Logf("Waiting for control plane to be ready")