Maple Hollandaise Sauce

I'm a carbs girl - as if you couldn't have guessed that.  Come brunch time, you'll find me ordering the French toast, waffles, pancakes, or crepes (I barely take the time to the read the eggy options).  Because of my one-track brunch thinking, I rarely encounter hollandaise sauce.  Until I made it myself, I never even bothered to find out that the thick yellow sauce was made of egg yolks, butter, and lemon.  There I was, thinking that I was the unhealthy one eating a cake made in a pan and then dousing it with maple syrup (funny how we justify eating huge pancakes by not thinking of them as real cakes), when all along the person sitting across from me was making just as dubious a choice with their eggs slathered in butter-based Hollandaise sauce.  It's a good thing brunch isn't an everyday thing.

For me, brunch isn't brunch without maple syrup.  Despite my proclivity toward carbs, if eggs were more regularly paired with maple, I would show them more love.  This leads me to my creation: maple Hollandaise sauce - a thing of beauty.  Maple Hollandaise sauce tastes just like traditional Hollandaise, but with a distinct maple flavor and a bit milder lemon flavor. Maple Hollandaise makes eggs happy.

But, not just eggs...

As I was preparing my maple Hollandaise for the third time (I had to get it right so Jonathan could get the perfect photo), I happened to be making my dinner - a sweet potato prepared in the microwave.  Yes, this food blogger often has a simple, unadulterated microwaved sweet potato for dinner, sometimes with a bowl of Cheerios on the side.  On a whim, I dipped my sweet potato in the maple Hollandaise sauce.  Screw eggs.  This maple Hollandaise was made for sweet potatoes.  You may already put maple and butter on your sweet potatoes; maple Hollandaise is the same thing but with the thick and satisfying addition of egg yolks.  Have sweet potato and maple Hollandaise for dinner if you like, or fancy up a Fall brunch by serving a sweet potato hash topped with this maple Hollandaise.

Maple Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

I created this maple Hollandaise sauce recipe by slightly modifying Tyler Florence's Hollandaise sauce recipe. Note that Hollandaise sauce should not be made in advance. For best results, it should be served within one hour of preparing it.

• 4 egg yolks (Because the eggs won't be fully cooked, I highly recommend Safest Choice pasteurized eggs to those concerned about food safety. You can eat Safest Choice eggs completely raw with no worries.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Whisk the egg yolks, lemon juice, and maple syrup together in a stainless steel bowl (or any bowl that you won't melt when you put it on top of a hot saucepan) until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. 
2. 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.
3. Continue to whisk rapidly. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Be careful to not let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble.
4. Remove from heat, cover, and place in a warm spot until ready to use. 
5. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

Cupcakes

You knew I was going to go there: cupcakes with Hollandaise sauce are coming soon.

My Inspiration and Full Disclosure

My inspiration for this post and the related cupcake came from a call put out by Sarah from Tastespotting for recipes using Safest Choice eggs.  If you have never been to Tastespotting, check it out now (unless you are really hungry).  It's a gallery of the best of the best food photos - all of which link to recipes.  Sarah told us that if she picked our Safest Choice egg idea, it would be featured on the top of Tastespotting for a month.  She chose my cupcake idea!  Both this recipe and the cupcake coming soon feature Safest Choice eggs and I was sent some egg coupons for writing the post.

How Do You Make the Egg Dish in the Skillet?

The dish in the skillet is one of Jonathan's egg bakes.  If you really want the recipe for it, you should pop over to the J. Pollack Photography Facebook page and ask him real nicely.