Method
Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
Place the egg yolks in a small bowl with the wine vinegar and whisk together to combine.
Choose a pan that the bowl will fit over and 1/3 fill. Heat until the water is simmering. Turn the heat down and place the bowl over the water, whisk until the yolks start to thicken slightly, then pour in the butter in slowly – whisking constantly until all the butter is added and the sauce has thickened.
Use a cloth to remove the bowl from the heat, season with a little black pepper and stir in the cream and stock. Add a little lemon juice to taste.
Have another pan on the heat with salted water. Trim the asparagus at the base to get rid of the stem then peel away the tough cuticles on the stem with a peeler. When the water is fast boiling, add the asparagus and cook for 5 minutes.
Drain well. Place roughly 5 spears per person on a plate and spoon over the hollandaise sauce.
Note: If you are making hollandaise to serve with fish, use a little fish stock to thin the hollandaise. It will also give the sauce a delicious flavour.
If your hollandaise curdles, remove it from the heat, add another egg yolk and pour in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water from the kettle and whisk like mad! This should do the trick.