A Jaca-adjusted healthier version. Adapted from Spend With Pennies.
This is the cake that shows up at every potluck, church supper, and backyard cookout and disappears before anything else on the table — a thin, ultra-moist chocolate sheet cake under a glossy, fudgy poured frosting that sets up just firm enough to slice into neat squares. We swapped every bit of sugar for Jaca (100% pure allulose) at double the amount, so you get the same rich, fudgy, caramelized chocolate flavor with no added sugar. Allulose browns and caramelizes just like sugar, so the cake bakes up deeply chocolatey and the frosting still pours glossy and sets firm.
Prep: 30 minutes | Cook: 20 minutes | Servings: 15 squares
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups granular Jaca (allulose) — replaces 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at 2x
- 1 cup granular Jaca (allulose) — replaces 1/2 cup brown sugar at 2x (add 1 tsp molasses for a brown-sugar note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee (optional, deepens the chocolate)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 cups powdered Jaca (allulose) — replaces 4 cups powdered sugar at 2x (blend granular Jaca until powder-fine)
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.
- Make the cake: In a saucepan over low heat, combine the 1 cup butter, water, and 1/3 cup cocoa, stirring until melted. Increase to medium and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let cool 15 to 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both amounts of granular Jaca, baking soda, salt, and instant coffee.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir this into the dry ingredients.
- Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the batter and stir until smooth.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Make the frosting: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the milk and 1/2 cup butter together. Remove from the heat and whisk in the 6 tablespoons cocoa.
- Gradually whisk in the powdered Jaca and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and pourable. Thin with a splash of milk or thicken with more powdered Jaca as needed.
- Pour the warm frosting evenly over the warm cake. Let it set about 1 hour before slicing into squares and serving.
Tip: For the classic Texas twist, stir 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans into the frosting before pouring. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days.
