Most of the time I eat chia pudding for breakfast and I skip adding any sweetener bar fruit. But for this recipe, I’ve added coconut sugar – it’s Valentine’s season after all, and I’m having these for dessert.
I love chia puddings. So first up, chia seeds don’t really taste like anything at all. But paired with a delicious sweet nut milk and fresh berries, there are transformed into a delicious breakfast or in this case dessert. Chia puddings are the perfect starting point to experiment with flavours; if you like chocolate, add raw cacao to your milk before mixing in the chia seeds. If you like nuts, blend in nut butter and top with toasted chopped nuts. They literally are a blank canvas on which you can experiment.
For today’s chia pudding I choose passion fruit and berries. Number one because I wanted to be on point for Valentine’s Day – ‘passion’ fruit plus strawberries scream romance. And number two, because it’s been so cold outdoors lately, I thought the summer flavours of coconut, berries and passion fruit would brighten and warm up our day… they kinda look like summer in a glass, don’t you think?!
For this dish, I heated 5 cups coconut milk over a low heat and added 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar and allowed it to dissolve. I also added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. This forms the liquid that is mixed with the chia seeds. I cannot stress how important it is to stir the mixture well once you add the chia seeds to avoid them clumping together. I use a whisk to do this as I find it most effective.
For the toppings, I use frozen berries, heated gently in a saucepan to defrost. You can of course use fresh berries if you prefer. The puddings are finished with a spoonful of passion fruit, chopped fresh mint and coconut flakes. Delish.
Serves 6.
Ingredients
5 cups of coconut milk
3-5 tbsp of coconut sugar (depending on your sweet tooth).
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole chia seeds
1 cup frozen berries
3 passion fruit
A few sprigs fresh mint
1 tbsp coconut flakes
Method
Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the vanilla extract and coconut sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.
Add the chia seeds to the milk mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture into a large container and place in the fridge for 4 hours to set.
Just before serving, heat the berries in a saucepan over a low heat until they soften.
To serve, divide the chia pudding between six serving glasses. Spoon a tablespoon of berries and their syrup over each. Spoon the flesh of half a passion fruit into each glass. Top with fresh mint and coconut flakes.
Enjoy xx
