Black forest chia chocolate pudding and a favour

First, I'd like to ask you a favour.

10 years ago today, my dad turned 48.
For his birthday, he cooked us dinner.  Even though he was really sick.
That's the kinda person he was, always putting others before himself. Always putting us first.

That was the last birthday we got to celebrate with him.  He passed away five months later.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the things he did for us and the person he was.  There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thinking about him, missing him, and wanting to be more like him.

So today I'm celebrating his memory with you all: those of you who knew him, those of you who loved him, those of you who he never even met - because he was too good a person not to share.

And my favour is this: Let's all do something nice for someone today. Even if it is only a little thing, the world would be a little bit of a better place today, because of you, because of my dad.

Happy birthday Dad.

Every year on Dad's birthday, I try to make something black forest because that was his favourite type of cake. So this year, since I'm on a bit of a health buzz, I made Black Forest Chia Chocolate Pudding. Even though I know Dad would've scrunched his nose at all the hippy stuff.

This pudding is honestly so easy, even my very sleep-deprived exam brain can whip it up.
Just needs a little bit of minimal preparation the night before.  Overnight, the magic happens: the mixture miraculously thickens with the chia seeds soaking up all that chocolatey milky goodness, transforming into these wobbly jelly-like pearls. Then you whizz it all up in a blender, and it takes on this awesome moussey texture. All from a few spoonfuls of seeds. Amazing.

{chocolate chia before blending. you could even eat it as is if you like the bubbly texture}

It tastes so rich and decadent that you don't even notice it's vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, mostly raw and basically good for you. Well, the port isn't really good for you but port is delicious.

{vegan. not gross. win.}

Black Forest Chia Chocolate Pudding

Serves 2
adapted from Oh My Veggies

Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, mostly raw

Chocolate chia pudding

1/3 cup chia seeds
1 cup soy milk
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder*
1-2 Tablespoons icing sugar* (or maple syrup / agave / honey (=not vegan btw)*)
optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*

Optional: dark chocolate* for decoration

Port soaked cherries

1/2 cup morello cherries (cherries only, no liquid)*
1 Tablespoon juice from the cherries
2 Tablespoons port wine or brandy

Whipped coconut cream*

(NB: I forgot to put this in the fridge overnight so that's why my whipped coconut cream looks more coconut pouring cream!)

1 can coconut cream, full fat, yea baby.
1 Tablespoon icing sugar* (or maple syrup / agave / honey*)

1. The night before, mix together the chia seeds, soy milk, vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of your choice of sweetener in a small bowl and put in the fridge.  In a separate small bowl or jar, mix the cherries, juice and port and leave that in the fridge too.  A small jar works best, coz it's best when the cherries are completely covered by the port.  Lastly, put your whole unopened can of coconut cream in the fridge along with an empty mixing bowl. All will be revealed later. Go to bed, after all that hard work. Not.

2. The next day, plop your chocolate chia mix into a good blender (I've heard those vitamix/nutribullet ones work really well, but I just used the blender attachment on my good old kenwood).  Blend until smooth.  Taste and add more sugar/sweetener to your taste.  Spoon, yes you need a spoon it's so thick, the chocolate chia pudding into little serving dishes and put back in the fridge.  At this point you can leave the pudding in the fridge to firm up a bit more or you can just serve it right away, it's pretty creamy already.

3. To make the whipped coconut cream, take your can out of the fridge and tip upside down carefully.  Open the bottom up with a can opener - you should see a layer of liquid.  Gently, pour this off (you can use it in smoothies or in cooking).  The white solid waxy stuff at the bottom of the can is what you want.  Put this in the chilled bowl, sift in the icing sugar and beat until fluffy and light, around 3-5 minutes.  Put the whipped coconut cream back in the fridge. If the cream firms up in the fridge too much just give it another whipping with beater.

4. To serve: Spoon over the cherry port mixture over the chocolate chia pudding already chilling in their serving dishes (pun absolutely intended). Next, spoon a dollop of the whipped coconut cream on top.  Using a vege peeler, shave some dark chocolate on top to decorate.  Devour and think about how much weight you must've lost because you've eaten a healthy dessert.


Notes:

*I used the jar delmaine brand cherries from the supermarket.

*The success of your whipped coconut cream can depend on the brand of coconut cream you use due to the stabilizers put in by the manufacturers.  I've found the "Aroy" brand works - let me know if you find other that work too!  Keep a can or two in your fridge so you always have some on hand.

* If you have allergies or are on a strict diet, double check your ingredients are definitely gluten free/dairy-free before using. 

*Same for my vegan friends, I am most definitely no expert on veganism so if you are on a strict vegan diet please check the products you are using are animal product free. 

***EDIT 14 Oct: Thank you so much to the wonderful Lucy, who pointed out that this recipe originally included "Pork" soaked cherries. I promise that there is in fact, no pork in this dessert.***