Lion House Raspberry Cheesecake (Renewed)

This amazing recipe for Lion House Cheesecake has been living and breathing in my archives for almost 7 years now. Few! That’s a long time. I thought it would be a good idea to give it a bit of a makeover with new pictures (the old were bad, man…really, really bad) and a delectable raspberry topping, just in time for Thanksgiving…that is, if Cheesecake for Thanksgiving is your kind of thing.

It’s mine. 🙂

This is a new york style cheesecake that is nice and thick, with a graham crackers crust that is heavenly. Baked on top is a sour cream layer that gives it a slightly tart taste, pairing so nicely with the sweet cheesecake. The raspberry topping really sends it over the top, my friends. Now, don’t be overwhelmed at the thought of making your own cheesecake. It really isn’t too complicated. You just need to be sure and use a spring form pan and allow time for the baked cheesecake to chill for at least 24 hours. You can do it!

Let me show you how to make it happen!

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place 16 sheets of graham crackers into a gallon sized Ziploc bag.

3. Seal the bag tightly and roll the crackers into fine crumbs with a rolling-pin. You need 1 1/2 cups of crumbs total.

4. Pour 6 Tb melted butter into the sack. Add 3 Tb sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and a dash of salt. Stir it all together to combine.

5. Grab a 9 inch spring-form pan. It’s super important to use a spring-form pan, my friends. It will make your cheesecake turn out well, I promise. 🙂 Spray it generously with cooking spray.

6. Grab a small measuring cup and press the crumbs firmly to the bottom and up half of the sides of the pan.

Like this!

7. Into your stand mixer or large mixing bowl place 3 (8 ounce) packages of softened cream cheese. Beat for 2 minutes or until it’s nice and smooth, making sure to scrape the bottom of the mixer with a rubber spatula a time or two.
8. Add 1 C sugar and a dash of salt. Beat for an additional 2 minutes.
9. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each one.
10. Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix just until combined.

11. Pour the batter into the crust.

Beautiful!

12. Pour some water into a glass 9×13 pan and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. This will help to keep the cheesecake from cracking while it bakes. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. It’s okay to leave it a little bit underdone at this point.

13. In a small mixing bowl combine 2 C sour cream, 3 Tb sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir it well and carefully spread it over the top of the cheesecake. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
14. Allow the pan to cool completely on a wire rack. Don’t be tempted to release the spring-form pan. Now is not the time for that kind of behavior. 🙂
15. Cover the cooled pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

16. To make the raspberry topping, place 2 Tb cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar into a medium sized sauce pan. Add 1 1/2 tsp water and 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice (bottled is fine) and stir to combine. Add 1 (12 ounce) package frozen raspberries and stir to combine. It will look a bit weird at this point. That’s ok.
17. Heat the pan up over medium high heat until the raspberries thaw and the mixture starts to combine. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture comes to a simmer. Allow it to cook for 1 minute or until it’s nice and thick. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.

18. Remove the sides of the pan from the cheesecake.

19. Spread the cooled raspberry topping onto the cheesecake.
20. Place 3 C of cool whip (or freshly whipped cream) into a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe it around the edges of the cheesecake. Refrigerate for an additional hour.

Serve and enjoy!

Here’s the handy printable..