Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandaise is one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, and perhaps the most feared by home cooks. The key is patience and temperature control — keep the heat gentle, add the butter slowly, and you'll achieve a silky, luxurious sauce that transforms even the simplest dish into something extraordinary.
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
10 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Medium
Method
- Clarify the butter: melt it gently in a saucepan, then skim off the white milk solids. Pour the clear golden butter into a jug, leaving the white residue behind. Keep warm.
- Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, and warm water in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water).
- Whisk the yolks continuously until they thicken and form a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted — about 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be pale and mousse-like.
- Remove the bowl from the heat. Very slowly, in a thin stream, pour the warm clarified butter into the yolks while whisking constantly. The sauce should emulsify and become thick and glossy.
- If the sauce becomes too thick, add a few drops of warm water to thin it. Season with cayenne pepper and salt. Serve immediately.
Chef's Tips
- Temperature is everything: If the yolks get too hot, they'll scramble. If the butter is too cold, the sauce won't emulsify.
- Rescue trick: If the sauce splits, start with a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and slowly whisk the split sauce into it.
- Holding: You can keep hollandaise warm for up to 30 minutes in a thermos flask.