Chia Parfait & Apple Crunch

gks_autumn_dessert_1

After both kids are put to bed, Luise and I have this evening habit of pouring ourselves a glass of yogurt or chia pudding (or both) and then diving deep into our pantry drawers for whatever nuts, seeds, nut butters, oats, honey, fruit and berries that we can find to cover the yogurt with. Some nights we even treasure a piece of dark chocolate that we chop finely and dust over. It’s a fresh and quick weeknight snack/dessert that never looks the same and quite honestly is one of the best things we know.

During the summer months, we add heaps of fresh berries but lately we have been all about apples. Usually we just add them cold, but a while back we instead tried to heat up apples, seeds and nuts in a frying pan with butter, honey, ginger and cinnamon. The soft and warm apples + crunch mixed with fresh apple pieces, cold yogurt and a drizzle of hazelnut butter in between was absolutely terrific.

gks_autumn_dessert_5

We often make a double batch of chia pudding and store in the fridge as it always come handy when the kids need a quick snack. You could prepare a quinoa or oat bircher and use as base in this recipe if you can’t find chia seeds.

Even though this is a weeknight dessert in our house, it would also work really well as a lighter dessert for fancier occasions. When layered in high glasses with a drizzle of maple or honey on top it sure looks impressive enough. Not to mention, the leftovers make a pretty bad-ass breakfast!

gks_autumn_dessert_3gks_autumn_dessert_2

gks_autumn_dessert_4

Chia Parfait & Autumn Apple Crunch

As always, adapt this recipe with seasonal ingredients of your choice; plums, peaches, pineapple, berries or pears could be great instead of apples. It’s easily made vegan by leaving out the yogurt or using coconut yogurt.

Chia pudding
1 cup oat milk or milk of your choice

5 tbsp chia seeds
zest from ½ lemon

Warm apple crunch
1-2 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil
1-2 tbsp honey, maple syrup or brown rice syrup
1 large apple
¼ cup / 60 ml sunflower seeds
¼ cup / 60 ml pumpkin seeds
¼ cup / 60 ml hazelnuts
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch sea salt

Elements for layering
6 small glasses

full-fat plain yogurt or coconut yogurt
nut butter
chopped fresh apples
bee pollen, optional

Preparing the chia pudding: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, set aside for 15-30 minutes and stir every now and then. You can add a few teaspoons honey or maple syrup if you prefer it a little sweet.

Preparing the warm apple crunch: Chop the apples into small dices. Heat butter and honey in a skillet. Add apples, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and hazelnut and spices and cook for about 7-8 minutes, stirring every now and then until the apples are golden and soft and the seeds and nuts are crispy.

Layering: Place a few spoonfuls of chia pudding in the bottom of 6 small glasses. Then add a dollop of nut butter, followed by a few spoonfuls of yogurt. Finally top with the warm apple crunch mixed with a few fresh apple slices and a sprinkle of bee pollen. Drizzle over some extra honey or maple syrup if preferred. Enjoy!

gks_autumn_dessert_6

Green Kitchen Stories