I'm a bit of a purest on cheesecake and have developed over 40 recipies for them, as well as won amateur chef of the world (ok washington state) gad many many years ago for my pumpkin cheesecake recipe. I only tell you this because I want you to know that if it exists and the word cheese and cake were in the title I tried it. Keep it basic :) Don't bake a cheesecake with anything else in the oven. Keep it centered in your oven. If you live in a dry climate put a cake pan on the shelf below half filled with water and cook your cheese cake as usual on the shelf above it. The moisture is much like a professional steam oven used to bake cheesecakes and helps with cracking. Take the cake out of the oven and let it rest for a slow cool on the counter. Don't throw it in the fridge right away because it will crack. The more eggs in the recipe the more likely it will crack...no biggie, cracks taste fine, learn to garnish well :oP When you make the cake, add the eggs one at a time at the end of your recipe mixing well between each egg. Don't whip them at high spead during this process. It will help your cake turn out lovely and not crack. It's all about the cracking can't you tell? For ease in getting the cake out of a spring form I often line the base of a springform with bakers paper (rip a square off, stick it on the base, put the spring form on top, then the crust...if you want it pretty you can trim it before putting the crust in but I always remove it prior to serving). To remove the cake (and ensure no cracks LOL) run a very sharp and thin knife around the inside edge of the pan before losening up the springform. Keep the blade towards the pan just a bit so you don't cut into your cake. Gently does it. To cut, have a cup of hot hot water nearby. Use a large cutting knife and slice the cake at the half way point. Slide the knife directly in, point at center and then with your fingers at the knife blade at the tail end of the piece, slide the knife directly out towards you. wipe the cake that might come off on a paper towel and rinse knife with hot water, then cut directly across from that area to cut the cake in half, rinse and repeat than pat dry your hair with a to...wait I got mixed up.... If you cake cracks (after all I've told you it shouldn't) learn the joy of slivered almonds which look lovely sprinkled over the top of a cake....hiding the cracks. Big split in the center? Edible flowers are lovely and look planned. Oh and do put it in the fridge when cooled to room temperature but do not cover with plastic or you'll end up ripping the top off when you remove it. If you do this, resort to slivered almonds...they go with almost any flavor.... Water baths and crock pots....too much work :) I used to sell 30 cakes a week to local restaurants....nary a water bath in sight LOL But i'm a lazy cook so that could be part of it :) Remember, in life avoid crack....both personally and in your desert products! (It's harder to fix a crack addict with silvered almonds than it is a cheesecake....)

Generally, I dislike low fat products and I totally agree not to try to skimp on flavor and fat when making a dessert -- but I gotta tell you, I honestly don't know that the cheesecake would turn out the worse for the wear. It seems like in theory it wouldn't be as good, but it could turn out better. I had one of the best dips ever about a year ago... when I asked for the recipe she said she used low fat cream cheese, so when I made it, I thought using the full fat cream cheese would only make it that much better -- wrong. Tried it again with the low fat and it was way better.

I am sure it will work! The key to frozen desserts is in the defrosting. I recommend unwrapping and tenting with plastic or saran and defrosting in the refrig. You don't want it to get gooey on top. dry curd cheese is just cottage cheese without the cream added...the beginning of many other cheeses, like blue, cheddar, edam, jack...and surely others.

Update: I made this tonight and decided to try putting in a maple syrup "ribbon" in it before it baked, using a squeeze bottle with a nozzle tip. It baked at 350º for 10 minutes (oven was preheated), then I reduced the temp to 200º for the next 35 minutes. It came out with a slight jiggle in the middle. I'll know more tomorrow when we eat it, but I think I could have maybe done 200º for 30 minutes instead of 35 minutes, and it still would have been fine! Hopefully tomorrow there will be a photo! Meanwhile, there is anticipatory salivating.