War-Time Ingenuity
Nobody will guess that the secret ingredient in this flavorful, moist, and spicy cake is the depression era kitchen staple canned tomato soup. You may even remember this cake from when you were a child, as many frugal war-time housewives had their own version of this low-cost treat. Most famously, the intrepid M.F.K. Fisher included a version of this recipe in her 1940's tome How To Cook A Wolf. This recipe, however, includes eggs and baking powder to lighten the texture, as well as a sweet frosting to round out the subtle salty undertones of the tomato soup
Tomato Soup Cake
Serves up to 16: To alter for larger/smaller quantities use the RCF
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
3 Tablespoons room temp unsalted butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a bundt or loaf pan. Scale out all of your ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the baking soda to the tomato soup and let sit. Sift the spices, baking powder, and flour together. Alternate adding the tomato soup and dry ingredients to the butter mixture until fully combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts if desired. Pour into desired pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Finishing The Cake
A classic way to finish the cake is with a simple cream cheese frosting. Simply beat a package of cream cheese with 2 cups of confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Spread over the top and serve, perhaps with some hot apple cider, a nice compliment to the spice. Another great way to finish this old-time favorite for less money is by brushing on some flavored simple syrup, like spice or rum, and then lightly dusting with confectioners' sugar. You can also serve the cake with some lightly whipped cream flavored with a little vanilla extract, though the added cost of fresh cream may not be ideal.
Advice on Revealing the Secret Ingredient
Avoid telling people about the tomato soup in this recipe until after they tell you how much they loved it. For some reason, people find the idea of a savory soup in their sweet cake somewhat off putting. Ultimately though, all you need to explain is that tomatoes naturally contain a large amount of sugar, and thus provide for an ideal ingredient for adding sweetness and moisture without the added cost of more butter, sugar, or eggs.
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