I make a cheesecake without a crust (yes, it's very possible), and cook it in an 8" square pan (well, actually two 8" square pans, because of the quantity of the batter, but that's another story). The key things I found are: (1) Put the pan in a larger pan (say 9" square) with a dishtowel on the bottom; pour about 1/2" boiling water into the larger pan before putting the smaller pan with the batter in it. (2) Bake at a very low heat for a long time; I tend to bake between 250F and 275F for a few hours (checking for doneness more by sight than by time). The low heat seems to avoid cracks in the cheesecake.

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