On Food and Cooking

eggs, and mix the white and yolk with
about a half litron [7 oz/185 gm] flour, as
if for making porridge, and a little milk.
And when the flour is well diluted so that it
has no more lumps, you throw in the other
two eggs to mix them well with this
preparation.
And when the milk begins to boil you
pour in little by little this mix of eggs and
flour and milk, and boil together on a low
flame that is clear and without smoke; stir
with a spoon as you would a porridge. You
must also add salt at your discretion as it
cooks, and a quarteron [a quarter-
pound/125 gm] good fresh butter.
This cream should be cooked for 20 to
25 minutes, then pour it into a bowl and set
aside this preparation, which pastry cooks
call cream and use in many baked goods.
— Le Pâtis sier françois, ca. 1690
A traditional French variant on pastry
cream is the bouillie (literally “boiled”; the