Task 1
Eggs Benedict Ingredients:
Equipment needed:
Hollandaise Sauce:
½ English breakfast muffin
Digital camera
30g butter at room temperature
1 egg
Tripod
15ml cream
1 slice of smoked salmon
Backdrop (can be fabric, tiles etc.)
1 egg yolk (slightly beaten)
1t butter (for muffin)
Props (e.g. crockery, cutlery,
2t lemon juice
Dash of vinegar
placemats, ornaments etc.)
1/4t dry mustard
Suitable pre-prepared garnishes
1/8 t salt Sprinkling of cayenne pepper
Method: To prepare sauce: 1. Place a heatproof glass bowl over a medium saucepan that is quarter filled with water. The bowl should not touch the water. 2. Remove the bowl, put the saucepan lid on and bring the water to the boil over a high heat. Uncover and reduce heat to very low so the water is barely simmering (there should be very little movement at all.) It is important that the water is barely simmering while making the sauce, if it is too hot, the egg yolks will cook too much and the sauce will curdle. 3. Place the egg yolk in the glass bowl and place over the pan. Use a wire balloon whisk to whisk the mixture constantly for 1 minute. 4. Add the butter, 1 small cube at a time, whisking constantly and adding another cube when the previous one is incorporated completely. (It should take about 10 minutes in total to add it all.) Don’t cook the sauce for too long or it may Saving the sauce: curdle. 5. The sauce will begin to thin when you start adding If the sauce begins to curdle or separate, the butter. However, once the emulsion is remove the bowl from the pan immediately. established, after about the third cube, it will Place the bowl over a larger bowl filled with begin to thicken again. If it begins to separate or cold water and ice cubes to halt the cooking curdle it can be saved as long as it isn’t too grainy process. Continue to whisk, to cool the sauce and the eggs haven’t set (see saving the sauce). and bring it back together. Gradually add the cream, whisking constantly. 6. Remove the bowl from the pan and place on a If this doesn’t work, place 1t lemon juice in a heatproof surface. The cooked sauce should medium glass bowl and add tablespoons of have the consistency of very lightly whisked the curdled sauce. Whisk until the mixture thickened cream. Whisk in the lemon juice, dry combines and thickens and the emulsion is mustard and salt. reformed, then whisk in the remaining sauce To assemble Eggs Benedict: a little at a time. 1. Poach egg in the following way: 2. Place a small saucepan on the heat, filled with about 5cm water. Add a dash of white vinegar to the water. 3. When the water is almost simmering whisk the water in a whirlpool motion (it helps the egg stay together), crack the egg onto a ladle and lower into the water. 4. Cook for around 2 ½-3 minutes, and remove from water to check runniness of yolk with finger. 5. Toast English muffin and top with smoked salmon. 6. Place egg on top. 7. Top with hollandaise sauce. 8. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper. 9. Serve as desired. 10. Photograph.