Will lowfat cream cheese keep filling from setting?

Question

I made a cream pie filling out of 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 block cream cheese and 1 large cool whip. While it tasted fantastic, it did not set. I did use lowfat cream cheese and wonder if that is the culprit?

Answer 1

Yes, using lowfat cream cheese could be the reason. Most of the fat content in cream cheese is saturated. Using the right amount of saturated fat in fillings or baking helps them to set or solidify better. If you use Lowfat cream cheese which has about half the fat of regular cream cheese, you are lessening from the solidifying agent of the formula.