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Home By Dessert Type

Healthy Chocolate Sheet Cake

★★★★★ 13 Reviews Recipe Print
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By: Erin6/30/21

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Healthy Chocolate Sheet Cake
Healthy Chocolate Sheet Cake

Exercise your baking skills with this Heathy Chocolate Sheet Cake! Made with maple syrup, almond flour, and a homemade chocolate frosting, it’s a game changer.

healthy chocolate cake

The most delicious, rich, fluffy chocolate cake

Summer is the season of get togethers and outdoor parties. What better way to kick the dessert game out of the park than with a healthy chocolate sheet cake?

This chocolate cake is a classic sheet pan version that includes many tasty ingredients as well as a homemade frosting. It feeds 16 and is perfect for a crowd! Whether you’re hosting, attending, or simply want a tasty dessert at home for the family, this chocolate sheet cake recipe is your best bet.

Oh, and with ingredient swaps like maple syrup and almond flour, it’s a way healthier version. That’s always a plus!

healthy chocolate cake

Ingredients in this chocolate sheet cake recipe

This recipe begins with an 8-ingredient cake batter followed by a 3-ingredient icing. Of course, you can always use your favorite store-bought icing, but where is the fun in that?!

Cake

  • Eggs: First up, 4 eggs will be used to make the cake fluffy and help the ingredients bind together.
  • Maple syrup: 3/4 cup of maple syrup will be added to sweeten the cake naturally!
  • Coconut oil: Use 1/4 cup of coconut oil.
  • Vanilla extract: Next, throw in 2 tsp of vanilla extract. People overlook vanilla, but it’s such a game changer in baked goods! You can definitely tell when it’s missing.
  • Almond flour: To form the base of the batter, use 2 cups of almond flour.
  • Cocoa powder: 1/2 cup of cocoa powder adds the chocolatey flavor!
  • Baking soda: Include 1 tsp of baking soda to help the cake bake properly.
  • Salt: Finish off the cake batter with 1/4 tsp of salt.

Frosting

  • Chocolate chips: For the chocolate icing, begin with 1.5 cups of chocolate chips.
  • Coconut cream: Next, you will need a 5.4 oz can of coconut cream.
  • Vanilla: Finally, include 1 tsp of vanilla.
healthy chocolate cake

A list of kitchen items you’ll need

Before you start baking, gather the following items for a quick and easy cooking process! I like to have everything at arm’s reach so it’s ready to go when I need it.

  • Sheet pan
  • Parchment paper
  • Nonstick spray
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Stirring utensil
  • Microwave-safe bowl
  • Spatula or icing tool

For measuring, you will need the following sized cups: 1/4 tsp, 1 tsp, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup, and 1 cup.

How to make a healthy chocolate sheet cake

This healthy sheet cake is incredibly easy to whip together. Even if it’s your first true baking rodeo, it should feel simple! When all is said and done, this recipe yields 16 delicious slices.

First, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9×14 sheet pan with parchment paper on the bottom and nonstick spray on the sides.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until everything is well combined.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake cools, make the frosting.

Melt the chocolate chips and coconut cream together in 30 second increments. It should take around 1 minute. Once melted, stir in the vanilla.

Finally, frost the cake once it has completely cooled. Optionally top with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

making healthy chocolate cake

How this cake is healthier

Wondering why this cake is titled healthy chocolate sheet cake? Well, 3 ingredients are to thank!

First, I didn’t use white sugar. This is the most important swap because it completely removes artificial sugar from the cake and replaces it with a natural sweetener — maple syrup! I always use this swap, and it tastes delicious every time.

Next, I skipped vegetable and canola oil and used coconut oil instead. They’re all pretty similar nutritionally, but coconut oil has a few extra nutrients.

My third healthy swap came with almond flour! This is another big swap because it eliminates artificial all-purpose flour and replaces it with something a bit more natural (and tasty!).

Substitution Tip

Want to switch up your sheet cake game? Here are some easy ingredient swaps that you can incorporate if you’re missing an item or simply want to experiment with flavor combos!

Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a very easy ingredient to swap! You can use molasses or honey, or simply use sugar. If you go the molasses or honey route, start with 1/2 cup and add to taste. If using white sugar, you will need about 1 cup.

Coconut oil
Any baking oil will work in this recipe, such as vegetable or canola! Use a 1:1 ratio.

Baking soda
If you find yourself out of baking soda, don’t panic! As a general rule of thumb, you can use 3 tsp of baking powder in its place.

Chocolate chips
When it comes to the icing, you can easily switch the flavor by replacing the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips!

Recipe Tips

I provide egg alternatives in most baking recipes. However, this recipe requires 4 eggs, which is a lot to substitute. You could try using plant-based eggs (like Just Egg), but know that it may change the end flavor of the cake.

healthy chocolate cake

If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!

If you need some more cake sweetness in your life (let’s be real – we all do!), here are some more yummy ideas! There is a great mix of fruity vs. chocolatey, and you can find even more cake recipes here!

  • Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Cake
  • Healthy Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
  • Paleo Chocolate Cake
  • Healthy Cake Pops (Gluten-Free)

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photography by Moriah Sawtelle

healthy chocolate cake
★★★★★ 5 from 13 reviews

Healthy Chocolate Sheet Cake

Exercise your baking skills with this Heathy Chocolate Sheet Cake! Made with maple syrup, almond flour, and a homemade chocolate frosting, it’s a game changer.

Prep: 20Cook: 20Total: 40 minutes
Yield 16 slices 1x
Print Pin it Rate

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

  • 1.5 cups chocolate chips
  • 5.4oz can coconut cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9 x 14 sheet pan with parchment paper on the bottom and nonstick spray on the sides.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet and whisk until all combined.
  5. Pour into greased sheet pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Let cake cool while making frosting.
  7. In 30 second increments, melt chocolate chips and can of coconut cream together. Should take around 1 minute. Stir in vanilla.
  8. Frost cake once it has cooled. Optional top with powdered sugar.
Author: ErinCategory: dessert, gluten-free, dairy-freeMethod: ovenCuisine: AmericanDiet: Gluten Free
healthy chocolate cake

Did you make this?

Leave a comment below and tag @erinliveswhole on social media!

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There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat 🙂

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Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Laurie says

    Posted on 2/7 at 11:43 am

    Just made this for a friends birthday treat. It looks and smells delicious however it didn’t rise at all. Any thoughts?

    Reply
  2. Maggie says

    Posted on 1/31 at 10:16 am

    Best cake to make for a crowd- easy peasy and SO tasty.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/31 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Maggie, so glad you loved it!

      Reply
  3. Larissa says

    Posted on 10/27 at 1:29 am

    My favorite cake!! I’m looking to turn this recipe into cupcakes for easier eating at a party. How long should I bake them?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 10/27 at 1:51 pm

      Hi Larissa, so happy you love it and hmm I would say maybe 10 ish mins and keep checking them until the tootpick comes out clean. I haven’t tried them as cupcakes so let me know!!

      Reply
  4. Pamela says

    Posted on 9/29 at 9:08 am

    Hi Erin, Love the simple ingredients. I was hoping you could tell me if this is a keto friendly recipe and if you might have a suggestion for my diabetic husband other than using a sugar substitute. Please let me know, thank you, Pamela.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 10/4 at 2:15 pm

      Hi Pamela, this could be made keto friendly if you switch to using a sugar substitute like Monkfruit or Stevia! Hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. Denise says

    Posted on 9/9 at 11:57 am

    Hi Erin
    Do you think this would work in 2 8 inch round pans with parchment paper.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 9/12 at 4:10 pm

      Hi Denise, yep that should be fine! Let me know how it comes out!

      Reply
  6. Amita Singla says

    Posted on 4/10 at 10:40 am

    This recipe is amazing! Super short to make! Tasty and the healthyest cake I made in my life! I did 9×13 and it was still amazing

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 4/12 at 6:14 pm

      Hi Amita, so glad you loved it! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Rachel says

    Posted on 3/25 at 3:57 pm

    Can you replace the almond flour with a non nut flour? Oat?Cassava? The cocoa I hope, can be replaced with unsweetened chocolate?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 3/25 at 8:56 pm

      Hi Rachel, yes, all those sups should be fine! Just double check the flour ratio depending which one you choose because not all are 1:1. Let me know how your cake comes out!! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Maddie Landers says

    Posted on 2/19 at 2:58 pm

    I’ve made this once before and it was DELICIOUS!! Tastes like the real thing. I want to make this again but can’t remember how I did the coconut cream…are you supposed to scrape the solid part and only use that, or shake the can up and use the whole thing? Thanks Erin for another kicka** recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 2/21 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Maddie, so happy you loved it and just the cream at the top! You can also buy a can that has only coconut cream – sold at most grocery stores! Enjoy!!

      Reply
  9. Noha says

    Posted on 1/18 at 12:03 am

    Absolutely incredible! I can’t believe how similar it tastes to the classic box mix cake.. but even better because of the healthier ingredients. The texture & sweetness is just perfect. This will be a go to recipe for sure!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/19 at 10:09 am

      Hi Noha, so glad you loved the cake!!

      Reply
  10. Audra says

    Posted on 9/13 at 11:40 pm

    Made this a couple days ago and it’s SO GOOD. Crazy easy to make as well! Super moist cake (I questioned only cooking for 18 minutes, but it was perfect!). I substituted vegetable oil for the coconut oil and it still turned out great. Will definitely make again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 9/14 at 10:44 am

      Hi Audra, so happy you loved it and glad you made it your own!!

      Reply
  11. Irma says

    Posted on 8/8 at 8:56 pm

    I have made these brownies multiple times and always seem to forget to drop a comment!

    This sheet pan brownie recipe is seriously SO easy and so damn delicious! The brownies come out so moist and I LOVE the coconut cream frosting (saved for future use)!! I made a batch the other day for my neighbors and it’s a 15/10 – their 2yr old ate it up!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 8/9 at 5:05 pm

      Hi Irma, so happy you all loved it so much! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Lindsey says

    Posted on 8/8 at 5:07 pm

    This cake is spot on perfection!!! I used a larger sheet pan because I didn’t have one the correct size and it still came out so moist, just a little thinner. I took this to mean that I get 2 pieces of cake which is never a bad thing. The one thing I did mess up was the frosting. I’ve never used coconut cream so I made the mistake of dumping the whole thing in the chocolate (juice and all) which ended up making a chocolate sauce instead of frosting. I’ll know better next time to only use the top, more solid, part of the coconut cream.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 8/9 at 4:59 pm

      Hi Lindsey, so happy you loved it and made it your own!! It still sounds like it came out good!

      Reply
      • Lindsey says

        Posted on 8/15 at 7:12 pm

        Update: I placed my my messed up icing in the fridge hoping it would react like coconut oil and harden some AND IT DID! My husband told me that his mom used to make a cake like this for him when he was young and he thought it was amazing!

        ★★★★★

      • Erin says

        Posted on 8/16 at 11:33 am

        Hi Lindsey, yay so glad it worked out and he loved it! 🙂

  13. Lorena says

    Posted on 7/24 at 11:22 am

    So so so so good! Definitely hard to stop eating. Felt like Miranda in that SATC episode LOL. Perfectly sweetened without it being too sweet. Moist and flavor packed!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 7/25 at 8:26 pm

      Hi Lorena, I am so happy you loved them and hahhaa love that!

      Reply
  14. Caitlin says

    Posted on 7/2 at 2:47 pm

    So easy and tasty! Skipped the icing because I’m serving this cake outside and didn’t want it to get messy. Added some choc chips before baking and wow! So good. Very fluffy for an almond flour cake. Will definitely make again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 7/6 at 4:21 pm

      Hi Caitlin, so happy you loved it and made it your own!!

      Reply
  15. Tasnia says

    Posted on 6/30 at 8:08 pm

    this was excellent- usually almond flour baked goods have a grainy texture to me but this was so soft and moist and perfect! I cheated and used not-healthy store bought funfetti icing but it paired perfectly with this cake!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 7/1 at 6:40 pm

      Hi Tasnia, so happy you enjoyed it so much and made it your own!!

      Reply
  16. Mimi says

    Posted on 6/30 at 3:16 pm

    What other type of pan could I use? Is a sheet pan the same thing as a cookie sheet? The sides aren’t very high

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 7/1 at 6:38 pm

      Hi Mini, I’d recommend a 9×14 sheet pan. A cookie sheet would be too shallow. Let me know how your cake comes out!

      Reply
  17. Jayti says

    Posted on 6/30 at 1:22 pm

    This turned out soooo good!! It was moist, and tasty and felt so healthy with the almond flour. I always have had trouble with almond flour because whatever I make never gets the texture of a cake but holy moly. This had the best texture and held together so well. Definitely make it!! You won’t regret it!! Thanks Erin for the best recipes!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/30 at 2:28 pm

      Hi Jayti, so happy you loved it!! 🙂

      Reply
  18. Katie says

    Posted on 6/30 at 10:38 am

    this looks heavenly! so excited to try!!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/30 at 2:27 pm

      Hi Katie, yes let me know how your cake comes out!

      Reply
  19. Judy says

    Posted on 6/30 at 9:53 am

    I don’t even have to bake this yet to know it’s going to be amazing. Just need to buy some cocoa powder and this baby is all mine.

    **I actually have made this frosting before for a different recipe and it really was AMAZING!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/30 at 2:27 pm

      Hi Judy, yes let me know how yours comes out!!

      Reply

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I’m Erin. Creator of Erin Lives Whole, a food blog with delicious and easy healthy recipes that will leave you feeling good. We’ve got everything from wholesome baked goods to comforting savory dishes. I can’t wait to see what you whip up! Read More...

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