Oh, one of my favourite desserts, the humble cheesecake is worth scouring Tamriel for! While some races like Argonians don't customarily use cheese in their food, it always manages to find its way into local treats such as these...
Moreish. Fluffy. Melt-in-your-mouth. These are but few words when I could sing the praises of Alinor-style chilled cheesecake all day. The cheesecake, usually made from a mix of sheep and cow milk soft cheeses, is lightly frozen to an ice cream-like texture within a fresh choux puff shell. Swirled through with berry compote, vanilla, and topped with fresh fruit like peaches and lychees, this is a truly exceptional dessert when paired with a sparkling dessert wine.
Black Marsh isn't a particularly hospitable climate for raising cattle, so cheese is a pricey commodity that mostly richer Argonians have access to. I once had a cheesecake at the upper-crust (no pun intended) inn in Lilmoth, which was made from imported Cyrodiilic cheese. What made it special was the use of local ingredients, like the saltrice crust sweetened with scuttlebloom nectar, and the to-die-for passionfruit jelly on top.
Cheesecake is one of the few desserts that the Green Pact Bosmer can indulge in, and they do so often! The milk of mammoths fed on sugar beets and cane is sweet and makes a delicious soft cheese. Studded with bacon bits and baked until firm, this sweet-and-salty treat is a dessert experience like no other in Tamriel.
Nobody does the classic biscuit-based cheesecake quite like they make it in High Rock. The freshest of fresh cream cheese is sweetened with beet sugar, sometimes swirled through with chocolate or jams, and served atop a homemade caramel biscuit base (sometimes with a drizzle of melted chocolate or custard, because why not). The best part? It's great served hot or cold! If you want to try an easier (but just as tasty) variant, have a go at making my High Rock Fluffy Cheesecake.
The scuttle cake made by the Dunmer is, unsurprisingly, burnt. This isn't a joke, the burning is intentional...and delicious. Scuttle is whipped until fluffy with kwama eggs, sweet marshmerrow, and is then baked until dark brown with a caramelised surface. It doesn't look the most appealing, but it tastes absolutely divine!
Oh beloved lemon cheese tart of Chorrol, how you haunt my dreams every night I do not eat you! Ahem. Yes, it's that good. The base is made from leftover biscotti that's been soaked in brandy overnight, and the lemon ricotta filling is zesty and tart without being overly sweet. Other popular seasonal flavours include blackberry in summer, and pumpkin in autumn, but lemon has a special place in my heart.
I adore a specific bakery in Riverhold that makes these delicious cheesecake slices soaked in caramelised moon sugar and cinnamon syrup. Creamy soft cheese is layered between filo pastry to create a stacked cake that's airy and has a nice bit of crunch to it too. Be sure to have a slice if you're ever in Elsweyr!
Aside from quark cake, we Nords also love making goat cheese cheesecakes, which are lighter in consistency and flavour than cow's milk cheeses. We beat together fresh chevre, eggs, sugar, and snowberry jam, and bake it atop a simple biscuit crust. It's served warm with snowberry preserves or jazbay jam, and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Served with a shot of schnapps, it's a classic homey dessert loved across the Province, and even has an Altmer seal of approval!
I mentioned the echatere cream cheese tarts beloved by Orcs across northern Tamriel, but Wood Orc timber mammoth cheesecakes are also worth writing home about! Unlike the Bosmer, Wood Orcs use regular, farmed timber mammoth milk that's sweetened with honey. It's poured into clay ramekins and baked to remove the strong mammoth odour which usually comes with unpasteurised milk, with the end result being a sweet, creamy pudding. It's served hot, with a sprinkle of brown sugar for those with a sweet tusk.
Since goat milk is the primary staple in Hammerfell, it stands to reason that the Redguards also make a goat cheese dessert. A traditional Hegathe confection is a firm slice of chilled, whipped goat cheese mousse that's sweetened and flavoured with cardamom, rose and pistachios. It's sandwiched between two amazingly thin wafers of puff pastry, and drizzled with honey and rosewater to serve. Truly delightful!
