Hollandaise Sauce

It is because I made cupcakes that I ended up making Hollandaise sauce last night. It makes sense, really. A friend, who has been sick, had a taste for white cupcakes. I made a batch for her, but since the recipe only used the egg whites, I had the egg yolks leftover.  If you have never made Hollandaise sauce, it is a little fussy, but not that hard to make. It is only a few ingredients, but they do have to be mixed carefully. The recipe is mix of egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice and some salt. You can add other seasonings, too, if you like. The tricky part is cooking the egg yolks, while adding the melted butter slowly enough to cook the egg yolks, without scrambling them. Sometimes I pull the bowl off the heat, while whisking, and then put it back over the heat, so I don’t scramble the eggs. When done properly, Hollandaise sauce is creamy, silky smooth and delightfully rich. Hollandaise sauce is often used over asparagus and it is essential for Eggs Benedict. I used it as a topper over rye toast and sunny side eggs with some crumbled bacon. Bliss.

 Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks
1 T. lemon juice
½ c. unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper, optional
Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl and until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. Place the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler,) the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble. If you think the eggs are getting too hot you can take them on and off the heat while whisking. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in salt and pepper. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.