Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise Sauce

12 tablespoons butter (1-1/2 sticks)

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chilled butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

salt

white pepper

In a small, heavy pan over low heat, melt 12 tablespoons of butter without letting it brown. Set the butter aside and keep it warm. Off the heat, in a 1-1/2 to 2 quart enamelled or stainless-steel saucepan, beat the egg yolks vigorously with a wire whisk for 1 minute or until they become thick; the bottom of the pan should show through when the whisk is drawn across it. Beat in the lemon juice. Then place the pan over very low heat and stir in 

the 1 tablespoon of chilled butter with the whisk. Stir constantly, lifting the pan off the stove occasionally to prevent it from overheating, until the butter has been absorbed and the mixture thickens enough to coat the wires of the whisk lightly. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the cream. Still off the heat, pour in the warm, melted butter by droplets, stirring constantly with the whisk. The sauce will thicken into a heavy cream. Taste the hollandaise and season with salt and white pepper.