The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

Its ingredients are butter, flour, and beaten eggs, no sugar, but a pinch of salt. The butter is first dissolved in a lined saucepan, the flour briskly stirred in, a small quantity of warm milk added, and this is boiled, stirring rapidly all the time, for about five minutes. It must not be stifl" even theu, therefore but a small quantity of flour is needed. Let this become cool before stirring into it the well-whisked eggs. For "Eclairs aux Chocolat" this batter would be poured into little boat-shaped moulds, well oiled, and when cooked they would be split open and a spoonful of custard cream inserted in the hollow, closed up again, and the outside coated over with melted chocolate. "Choux à la creme" are round tartlets made of this batter, the hollow filled with cream. The pate, if made "a little stiffer, is used for fancy erections, basket-work devices, etc. "Frangipane" is a delicious creamy custard. To beaten eggs, new milk and a very little flour are added, with fine white sugar; these are brought nearly to boiling-point, and when thick, crushed ratafia, a glass of brandy, lemon-juice, and a little butter are stirred in. Tartlets made of pate feuillete are filled with this. A '^ gateau au riz ^' is a sweet dish very popular in France. Whole rice is cooked in milk till quite soft, and the milk nearly absorbed; then sugar, lemon-juice, a little butter, and beaten eggs are well stirred in. The mixture is poured into a shallow mould, which has been well buttered and coated with fine breadcrumbs and sugar. This is baked until firmly set, when it is turned out, and covered all over with caramel, and ornamented according to fancy. It is always eaten cold. The "brioche" is quite a different production to the English bun. One-third of the quantity of flour intended to be used is mixed to a very soft paste with a little frothing yeast and warm water ; with the other two-thirds of flour, eggs, a little butter, a few currants, salt, and more warm water are mixed to a soft paste again. These two pastes are then kneaded together to form a dough, which is left to rise several hours ; then the brioches are cut out, brushed over with egg and milk, and baked very quickly. They are exceedingly light, and much liked by people who do not care for sweet cakes. The same mixture is baked in loaves, which are cut up and buttered, as for bread and butter. The cakes made at the fetes in the country towns and villages are very similar, more or less rich, with or without the fruit, according to the custom of the district. Here should be mentioned the "tarte," the genuine country tart, which makes its appearance on every table when the "ducasse" or "wakes" come round. The crust bears some resemblance to the "pate d'Eclair," but the country flour renders it mucli more substantial ; the custard which frills it is a wonderful compound of eggs, milk and sugar, spice, with here and there an occasional raisin making its appearance. When well made, this compound is very good, but an inferior make has an unfortunate resemblance to leather, and needs a country appetite to make it ^' go down.^'