This "Black forest in a jar" is a chocolate chia pudding, layered with a homemade cherry chia jam and topped with coconut whip, shaved dark chocolate, sliced almonds and fresh cherries. It sure sounds like a dessert to me... and I've served it as a dessert in the past, but since this chia pudding is not too sweet, we enjoy this recipe in the morning as well.

The cherry chia jam is adapted from my Strawberry chia jam. I love chia fruit jams because they take only a few minutes to cook and don't require any "jam maker" skill at all! If you can't find good affordable cherries, you can use frozen cherries without a problem! It's also a good way to enjoy this fruit all year long!

For more ideas on ways to eat chocolate and cherries for breakfast, see this post that includes two more recipes (black forest chia pudding and black forest smoothie) : Black forest breakfast.

"BLACK FOREST CHIA PUDDING"

Yield : 2-4 servings

Ingredients for the chia pudding :

2 cups almond milk (or your favourite milk)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons chia seeds (not grounded)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon raw honey (or maple syrup or agave nectar)
2 tablespoons cacao powder (I use raw cacao powder)
Toppings : coconut whip (recipe here), sliced almonds, fresh cherry, shaved chocolate or cacao nibs

Ingredients for the cherry chia jam :

3 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
2 tablespoons chia seeds

For the chia pudding :

Mix every ingredient together in a jar. Mix well to combine.
Refrigerate overnight (or at least 1 hour). You can shake it again after 30 minutes and one more time, after 15 minutes. If you run out of time and have to skip that part, you might discover big chunks of agglomerated chia seeds in the morning in your pudding. Brake down the chunks with a fork and pour back into the jar. You can serve this chia pudding with layers of cherry chia jam (recipe below), coconut whip (find the recipe and tutorial here), sliced almonds, shaved dark chocolate or cacao nibs and a fresh cherry on top!

For the cherry chia jam :

In a medium sized pot, add the cherries, vanilla, lemon juice, maple syrup. Heat over medium for about 5 minutes. Add the chia seeds and simmer at low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Mix the cherries with a hand mixer or food processor until the desired texture.
Store the jam in the fridge for about one week.