Sauce Hollandaise
A classic egg yolk and butter sauce whisked over a barely simmering water bath, never direct heat, since the eggs need gentle, even warmth to thicken smoothly instead of scrambling. Adding the melted butter in a thin, slow stream while whisking constantly is the one step that decides whether the sauce emulsifies into something glossy or breaks into a greasy, curdled mess.
Prep10 min
Cook15 min
Servings4
Christoph's Sauce Hollandaise, the butter added in a slow stream over a water bath so the emulsion never breaks.
Ingredients
Written for a 2 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Sauce
- 3 egg yolks rounded
- 15 ml water rounded
- 15 ml lemon juice rounded
- 180 g butter, melted and still warm rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste cayenne pepper (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Set up a heatproof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
- Whisk the egg yolks, water and lemon juice together in the bowl. Whisk constantly over the gentle heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale, thick and doubled in volume.
- Remove the bowl briefly from the heat. Add the warm melted butter in a very thin, slow stream, whisking constantly, returning to the heat only briefly if the sauce cools too much.
- Once all the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick and glossy, season with salt and cayenne if using.
- Serve immediately. Hollandaise doesn’t hold well and is best made just before serving.
Method in the Thermomix
- Put the egg yolks, water and lemon juice into the mixing bowl. Insert the butterfly whisk. Whisk 4 min / 70°C / speed 3, until pale and thickened.
- With the machine running at speed 3 and no temperature set, pour the warm melted butter through the lid opening in a thin, steady stream, taking about 2 minutes to add it all.
- Season with salt and cayenne if using. Use immediately.
Notes
- Never let the water boil, and never let the bowl touch it. Direct heat or a hard boil scrambles the yolks in seconds; a barely simmering water bath is the whole safety margin this sauce has.
- Add the butter slowly, not in a rush. A thin, constant stream lets the yolks absorb the fat gradually; pouring it in all at once overwhelms the emulsion and the sauce splits into a greasy puddle around curdled egg.
- If the sauce does split, whisk a teaspoon of hot water into a fresh yolk in a clean bowl, then slowly whisk the split sauce back in; it often saves it.
- Serve it immediately. Hollandaise doesn’t reheat or hold well; it thickens too much when cold and breaks when reheated.
Ingredient substitutions
- Lemon juice can be swapped for a mild white wine vinegar reduction for a more traditional French version.
- Cayenne can be omitted, or replaced with a pinch of white pepper.
- Clarified butter gives a slightly more stable sauce, though whole melted butter works fine here.
From Christoph Mayer