A Tea in the Garden

By Ingrid DeVilliers –

I love all things beautiful and romantic and therefore decided that it was time to host a tea in our garden. I took out some of my favorite teacups and went for a walk in our garden and picked some beautiful bougainvillea.

I baked a delicious cheesecake and set the table. I kept things very simple and enjoyed the afternoon with loved ones…

CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 750 g smooth cottage cheese
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Strawberry sauce:

• 3 cups of frozen strawberries
• 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons port

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Crust:

Mix the crumbs, sugar and melted butter together and using the back of a large spoon, press crumb mixture firmly on the bottom and up side of a 9″ nonstick spring form pan.

Filling:

Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Add the lemon juice while beating. *I prefer using cottage cheese instead of cream cheese and put my cottage cheese in a blender to make it very smooth. Stir in the cottage cheese, cream and flour and mix. Turn the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 275*F and bake for 1 hour or until the filling is firm but still slightly soft in the center. Switch off the oven but leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven. Remove from the cake tin when cold and transfer to a serving platter.

Strawberry sauce:

Bring the strawberries and sugar to a boil and simmer slowly for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the port and bring to the boil again. Leave to cool and serve with the baked cheesecake. *If you do not have strawberries you can use blueberries or any other choice of berries.

Enjoy!

I can honestly say that I am living my dream life! I am so grateful for the wonderful life I live together with my husband and children. Is everything always perfect? No, not at all because we live in an imperfect world but I try to think and speak positive on a daily basis because I firmly believe “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7)

Ingrid’s passions are cooking, styling, beautiful interiors and photography. Ingrid holds a degree in Interior Design through London Metropolitan University, London, UK and is also a qualified teacher. She was born and raised in South Africa and has traveled extensively through the world. She sailed on a 36 feet yacht from South Africa to Brazil, the Caribbean and Bermuda. She is happily married and in lives in beautiful Naples, Florida with her architect husband and two children.

Blog Links: http://thejoysoflifeingrid.blogspot.com/,  http://ingriddevilliersdesign.blogspot.com/