The Lion House is a historical building in downtown Salt Lake City. It was originally a house belonging to Brigham Young, and is now a restaurant. My mom had a book with several Lion House recipes, and this is one of our favorites to make. I think my favorite part is the cinnamon in the slightly crunchy crust. The original recipe calls for just making it in a pie pan, but we usually make it in a springform pan. Also, the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I usually put a pan of hot water in the oven below the cheesecake to help prevent cracking.
I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but you’d need to change the crust, either using gluten free “graham” crackers or something like gluten free Oreos.
Lion House Cheesecake
Creamy filling with an amazing crust.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ c. Graham Cracker crumbs, rolled fine (or gluten free graham crackers or cookies)
- 3 Tbsp. Sugar
- 6 Tbsp. Butter, melted
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
Filling
- 1 ½ lbs. (3 8 oz. Pkgs.) Softened Cream Cheese
- 1 c. Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- ¾ tsp. Vanilla
Directions
For the crust, thoroughly mix ingredients and press into 9″ or 10″ pie pan or spring form pan.
For the filling, beat cream cheese well. Add sugar a little at a time; add eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Combine thoroughly until smooth. Pour into crust and bake for at least 1 hour at 300° until set. (Cheesecakes are done when there’s a tiny bit of wobble in the middle or when the internal temperature reaches 150°.) Serve chilled.
Mitchell Meals 