Hollandaise is a luscious, buttery sauce typically served over eggs benedict, steamed asparagus, broccoli and a variety of sea food dishes. It is smooth and rich with a touch of tanginess from fresh lemon juice that really adds to the beautiful flavor of this sauce.
This hollandaise sauce recipe is super easy using few ingredients and a blender, so you can save your whisking strength for something else. Its a great recipe to customize by adding herbs, sour cream or different spices to customize the flavors to your specific dish.
Let’s get started…
Begin by gathering 8 tablespoons of butter, 4 egg yolks, some fresh lemon juice, salt and a cayenne pepper, if you want a little bit of heat to your hollandaise.
Hollandaise sauce gets a bad wrap for being “difficult” to work with and although I do not believe this to be true, I do understand why many do not want to make the sauce at home. Most hollandaise recipes require cooking the egg yolks in a double boiler and whisking warm butter into the yolks by hand, but this recipe uses the speed of a blender and piping hot butter to cook the egg yolks, so no double boiler is required.
The largest complaint about hollandaise is that it “breaks” easily or curdles and this is often caused by over heating the egg yolks. This issue is completely avoided by bringing the sauce together in the blender, plus there is no need to tire your arms with vigorous whisking. Let the blender do the work!
To bring your hollandaise together, combine 4 egg yolks and a pinch of salt in your blender. Blend until the egg yolks are creamy. Add 1-3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice into the yolks and blend for a few more seconds. The amount of lemon juice you use will depend on how tangy you want your hollandaise to be.
Next, while the blender is on medium speed, slowly drizzle in 8 tablespoons of hot, melted butter. I like to melt the butter in the microwave in a glass measuring cup with a pouring spout, so I can take it directly out of the microwave and drizzle it into the egg yolks immediately.
Once all of the butter has been incorporated into the sauce, it will be ready to serve.
Hollandaise needs to be enjoyed as soon as possible. When it is first made, it is warm and silky smooth, but as it cools, it looses a little bit of its creamy perfection. The flavors will still be good, but warm hollandaise is much better than a cooled version and attempting to heat it up later is a gamble. Just as over heating the egg yolks during the initial cooking process can cause the sauce to curdle, reheating the sauce later on comes with the same risks, so save yourself the trouble and enjoy it right away.
Hollandaise is silky, luscious and the perfect way to finish eggs, steamed vegetables and delicate seafood dishes.
Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of butter, melted, hot
- 4 egg yolks
- 1-3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Blend 4 egg yolks with a pinch of salt until creamy
- Add 1-3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (depending on how tangy you prefer your hollandaise to be) and blend for a few more seconds
- Slowly drizzle 8 tablespoons of melted, hot butter into the egg yolks while blending on medium
- Serve immediately
