Tomato Soup Spice Cake Recipe
Vintage Depression Era Mystery Cake Dessert Featuring Condensed Soup
Aug 23, 2009
Tomato Soup Cake, also known as Mystery Cake, is thought to have become a popular dessert during the 1930s. Its mystery stems from the secret ingredient, tomato soup. Flavored with spices and raisins, the spiced loaf cake is flavorful and without any true tomato taste.
A conversational piece, this loaf cake is both delicious and entertaining. The cake possibly came out of the Great Depression when certain goods like dairy and eggs were in limited supply. In this recipe, the cake is moistened only through the use of condensed tomato soup and a small amount of lard and butter.
Tomato Soup Cake
Makes 1 Loaf Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lard
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 can condensed tomato soup
- 2 cups all-purpose white flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup seedless raisins
Directions:
- Liberally grease an 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F (about 175C)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, lard and butter. Using the back of a wooden spoon, blend the lard and butter into the granulated sugar. The mix will be crumbly and any pieces of butter or lard should be quite small, similar to the texture of sand.
- Add the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and condensed tomato soup to the mixing bowl and stir until all of the ingredients are fully combined. The mixture should be homogeneous and without any lumps.
- Slowly add the flour to the mixing bowl in half cup increments, stirring between each addition until all of the flour is fully combined.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, and the seedless raisins to the mixing bowl. Continue stirring until all ingredients are fully incorporated into the cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased loaf pan (8" x 4"). Place the loaf pan into the oven and bake at 350F (about 175C) for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake tests done.
- Cool the loaf pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.
- Slice the cake and serve warm.
The cake can be served on its own or it can be accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. For an added bit of fun, guests can be served the tomato spice cake without being told what it contains. After eating the cake, guests can be quizzed to see if they can guess the secret ingredient.
For related reading on the introduction of a lower sodium Campbell's Tomato Soup, please read "Reducing Sodium Levels in Processed Foods."
 |
