Philadelphia cream cheese

Bring the cream cheese and eggs to room temperature, then mix just until smooth; beating in lots of air can make the filling rise and crack. Bake gently and let the cheesecake cool gradually in the switched-off oven with the door ajar.

Yes. Beat softened cream cheese briefly with icing sugar, then spread it over a completely cooled cake; overbeating can make the icing runny. Keep the iced cake in the fridge.

Keep it covered in the fridge and use a clean knife or spoon each time. Follow the pack’s storage instructions and use-by date; don’t eat it if it has been left warm for a long time or shows signs of spoilage.

You can, but freezing can make it crumbly or watery when thawed, so it may not spread smoothly. Thaw it in the fridge and use it in a cooked sauce, pasta bake or cheesecake filling rather than on a bagel.

Spread it on bagels with smoked salmon, or use it to top a jacket potato with spring onion. It also makes a smooth base for cheesecake and can be stirred into pasta with a splash of cooking water.

Mascarpone gives a richer, softer filling, while well-drained cottage cheese blended until smooth is a less rich alternative. Either can change the texture, so use a cheesecake recipe written for that cheese if you can.

Yes. Light cream cheese has 16 g fat and 196 kcal per 100 g, compared with 27 g fat and 281 kcal per 100 g in full-fat cream cheese.