Magic Tomato Soup Cake Recipe

 This is one of those recipes that I absolutely can NOT take credit for.   Tomato soup cake has been around since I believe the great depression and has managed to survive through the ages, especially popular during WWII with rationing.  This recipe is for the ORIGINAL tomato soup cake, which doesn't contain eggs, milk or butter and this particular version was given to me by my mom years ago with other hand written recipes she'd collected over the years (there are a LOT of different variations of tomato soup cake out there, trust me.  I tried to track down where this particular recipe came from originally and it was nuts how many different variations on this recipe there were out there).  With current world events, I think this is definitely a good recipe to share.  Yes, you're reading the recipe right.  It calls for a can of condensed tomato soup.  Good old Campbells.  It takes the place of the other ingredients that are omitted.  Trust me, it does not taste like tomato soup when done.

Since this recipe does not contain eggs, milk or butter it ends up with a dense and moist texture, so do not expect a light and airy cake with this recipe (if you want a light and airy version you can look those up online, but to me it kind of defeats the purpose of the recipe for one, as those recipes contain eggs and other originally omitted ingredients, and for two it wrecks the dense and moist texture that I like the cake to have).  But, it is super tasty!  Yes, it comes out a bit orange looking, but I really do like this cake and have liked it since I was a kid.  It ends up being a really tasty spice cake in the end.  I suggest topping with a good cream cheese frosting or a butter cream frosting, but you can also just sprinkle powdered sugar on top or just eat it as is without any topping at all.

Try it!  It may surprise you :).

Magic Tomato Soup Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (room temp)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 can condensed tomato soup (standard sized can, 10.75 ounces), undiluted
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves (reduce down to 1/2 tsp unless you want your cake to taste like cloves, trust me)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

 

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.  Grease a loaf pan and set aside. 

3.  In a large mixing bowl cream together vegetable shortening and sugar.  Add tomato soup to mixture and combine well. 

4.  In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices (I use a whisk to make this job go quickly) 

5.  Add flour mixture into wet mixture 1/3 at a time, making sure to combine well after each edition. 

6.  Add batter to greased loaf pan.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool cake for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. 

7.  Frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting (or other frosting of choice), powdered sugar or nothing at all.  My step-mom recommends a boiled frosting for this recipe as it tastes the best (tomato soup cake is her favorite cake of all time :).

Enjoy!