What a week. Monday morning I excitedly launched my new project, and my only worry was whether my new song obsession meant I was now a Belieber. Monday evening, I sat in a podiatrist’s office waiting for her to come and confirm what I thought was probably a sore tendon in my right foot. As I idly flipped through an issue of Martha Stewart Living, a recipe for a chocolate buckwheat torte caught my eye, so I took a picture of the recipe with my phone and sat back to wait for the doctor. Thirty minutes later, I had been x-rayed and diagnosed with a stress fracture in one of my sesamoids, a bone so small it’s named after a seed. I was outfitted with an air cast and sent home with strict instructions not to walk more than is necessary for my commute to work.

So yeah, not a sore tendon.

By Thursday, 3 days into my 8-week sentence, I was realizing the realities of my new situation. On Tuesday morning, I took the bus to work, telling myself it was just while I got used to the boot. Tuesday afternoon, I walked a relatively flat 10 blocks to my dentist and back to work, but even the minor hills I had to walk made me realize the awkwardness of my new accessory. Wednesday morning, I sadly bought my first bus pass in years. Thursday morning, I had to uber to work because I hadn’t yet mastered the bus schedule. Worse than all the day-to-day adjustments, I had to cancel all my hiking plans with friends and resign myself to weekends on the couch.

And I let my fitbit die!

Needless to say, I was in the mood for some stress baking. I remembered that chocolate torte, but I also remembered that my main source of exercise had been taken away from me, and I probably didn’t need to start gorging myself on sweets. But I was feeling sorry for myself, and my dentist said I didn’t have any cavities, so I did what any sensible person would do. I made a smaller torte! It also turned out I was short on butter and eggs, and since “swinging by the grocery store” actually requires planning and effort now, I decided to make the torte vegan, and use the substitutes I had on hand.

So here is a tiny, vegan, gluten free chocolate buckwheat torte, topped with a drizzle of maple tahini glaze in honor of my injury, and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It's rich and fudgy and I hope it brings you as much joy at the end of a crappy week as it did me.

Chocolate Buckwheat Torte with Maple Tahini Glaze

Adapted from Martha

For the Torte:

4 tbs coconut oil
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
scant 1/8 cup almond meal
1/6 cup buckwheat flour
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 flax seed eggs (2 tbs ground flax seed + 6 tbs water, stir together, let sit 5 min)
1/4 cup coconut sugar or maple syrup

For the Maple Tahini Glaze:

1 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs tahini
1/2 tbs coconut oil
splash vanilla
pinch sea salt

flaky sea salt, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 4-inch springform pan. 
2. In a heat-proof mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk together the almond meal, buckwheat flour, salt and cinnamon and set aside. 
4. Add the flax eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate and then the flour. 
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then release from pan and let cool completely.
6. While cake is cooling, make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan heat the maple syrup, tahini, coconut oil, vanilla and salt together until melted and incorporated.
7. When cake has cooled, set on a plate, top with the glaze, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and serve.

Notes:

• If vegan isn't your thing, just use 2 eggs and 4 tbs butter instead of the flax eggs and coconut oil.