Texas Kitchen: Hannah Smith’s cheesecake recipe

Cheesecake might be considered a classic New York dessert, but it pairs perfectly with local Texas fruit and other toppings, says Hannah Smith, who most recently served as pastry chef at Tillie’s Restaurant & Bar at Camp Lucy resort in Dripping Springs.

“Use your favorite fresh fruit, jam, chocolate sauce, caramel—you name it—it can’t be bad on a cheesecake,” Smith says, adding that her favorite topping is fresh strawberry sauce.

Before relocating to the Texas Hill Country last summer, the Los Angeles native had worked as a sous-chef at the popular L.A. eatery Bottega Louie and had opened her own bakery, Gemini Bakehouse. 

She stepped back from her career last December to spend more time enjoying the outdoors with her children, while making good use of the Hill Country’s diverse harvests. “The sky really is bigger in Texas,” Smith marvels. And when it comes to toppings for this cheesecake, she adds, the sky’s the limit.

Serves 10–12            

• 5 cups water                                            
• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 1½ cups sugar 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon (2–3 tablespoons)     
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 eggs 
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 10-inch store-bought graham cracker crust
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Fruit topping of choice

Preheat oven to 300°. Pour water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. 

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with beaters or a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed until just smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl to ensure mixture is evenly combined.

Add vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt; beat on low speed until just combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated, scraping bowl as needed. Mix in sour cream. Make sure batter is uniform, but do not overmix.

Pour batter into crust. Pour boiling water into a roasting pan large enough to fit the cheesecake (the water should come about 1 inch up the side of the pie crust pan).

Place cheesecake into roasting pan and bake until cake is just set, 1½ hours to 1 hour and 45 minutes (cover loosely with foil if top starts to look too golden while baking). The cake should not look watery but should wobble slightly when the pan is nudged.

Carefully remove roasting pan from oven and set on a wire rack; cake will continue to cook as it cools. Keep cake in water bath until water is just warm, about 45 minutes.

Remove cake from water bath and discard foil. If necessary, run a thin-bladed knife around the cake’s edge so it doesn’t stick to the sides (which can cause cracks as it cools).

Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to cool for at least 8 hours. Serve with whipped cream, if desired, and a fruit topping of your choice.