Strawberry Cheesecake

Of all the desserts out there cheesecake has got to be one of my favorites. I searched all over for a delicious cheesecake recipe but I didn't like the ones that weren't baked and tasted too cream cheesey. When I tried the Lion House Cheesecake recipe I knew I found what I was looking for. This one is not the easiest recipe but believe me, it's totally worth it.

Lion House Strawberry Cheesecake -

Crust -

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
3 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling -

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Topping -

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry topping -

1 package strawberries
1/3 cup sugar

(Skip down to the bottom of the post for a video tutorial)

If you have a springform cheesecake pan you'll want to use that. If not just use a regular pie pan but be aware that you might not need to use all the cheesecake crust, filling, and topping since it could spill over.

Place your graham crackers in a Ziploc baggie and mash them up with a rolling pin. You'll need 1 1/2 cups.

 Melt 6 Tablespoons butter in the microwave.

Add your graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tablespoons sugar, and a dash of cinnamon (optional) and mix together.

Evenly distribute the crust around the bottom of the greased pan and press down the graham crackers until the bottom is covered completely.

Mix together with a hand mixer three 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese.

Add 1 cup sugar,

3 eggs,



2 teaspoons lemon juice,

and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla.

Blend well. You may have some chunks of cream cheese but they will cook out in the oven so don't worry.

Pour the mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Place in the preheated 300 degree oven and bake for 55-60 minutes. Make sure you place the cheesecake on top of a baking sheet to prevent any spills falling into your oven.  

While the cheesecake bakes, start on your strawberry topping. Chop up 1-2 small containers of strawberries into bite size pieces.



 Place them in a pan and cook them over low heat. Add 1/4 - 1/3 cups of sugar. You don't want to  cook this long, just until the sugar dissolves and juice starts to come out of the strawberries.

Take out 1/3 of the strawberries and blend them in your blender.

Add the puree back into the pot and turn off the heat. Let cool, and place in the refrigerator. That's all there is to that! (Side note: To save time you can always just use store bought canned strawberry or raspberry sauce but this is a hundred times better!)

Here's how the cheesecake will look after being baked.

The last step is making the sour cream topping.

Place 1 cup sour cream in a mixing bowl.

Add 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 

Whisk together.

Pour on top of the cheesecake after it has cooled for a few minutes.

Bake for another 10 minutes. Let it cool completely and refrigerate before serving.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the cheesecake when we served it on Thanksgiving but it's beautiful and delicious! You'll see it in the video below. I hope you enjoy it.