Chai, chocolate and chia pudding recipe

Makes 1 large jar

This awesome chai, chocolate and chia pudding recipe is so healthy it’s not only suitable for dessert, but also for breakfast! It contains cacao, which is so much better for you than chemically processed chocolate and packs 40 times the number of antioxidants as blueberries. Chia seeds are another gem, low-calorie and rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and warm, spicy cardamom helps with the three Ds: digestion, detoxification and depression. Get stuck in!

Ingredients:

1 tin of pure coconut milk

1 chai teabag

Handful of cardamom pods

2 star anise

1tbsp cacao powder

3tbsp manuka honey

5tbsp chia seeds

To decorate

Raspberries

Grated coconut

100% cocoa solids chocolate

Method:

Warm half a tin of coconut milk gently in a pan. Add a chai teabag, the cardamom pods, star anise and a tablespoon and a half of manuka honey.

Heat gently for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to ensure the milk has absorbed those delicious warm spice flavours.

Carefully strain the milk from the added ingredients and place the liquid in the fridge to cool.

Warm the second half of the coconut milk, adding cacao powder and a tablespoon and a half of manuka honey. Ensure the cacao is fully stirred in. Again take from the heat and place in a glass in the fridge to cool.

Once both milk mixtures are cold, stir two and a half tablespoons of chia seeds into each and leave on the side. The chia seeds will gently expand, forming a jelly-like consistency. This happens over the course of an hour or two. You can stir the chia mixture every now and again to ensure they expand evenly. (Without putting you off, it’s almost like frog spawn.)

Gently spoon a layer of chocolate chia into the bottom of a jar, add a chai chia layer, then chocolate, then chai, and repeat until it’s all used up.

Decorate with raspberries, grated coconut and a few 100% dark chocolate shavings.

Place back in the fridge until ready to serve.