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Old-Fashioned Tomato Soup Spice Cake

You’d never notice it at all if you didn’t know it was there!

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It’s no mystery that spice cake is one of those things that everyone seems to love. It’s so comforting, has tons of flavor and even makes your house smell amazing! It’s also the kind of dessert that only gets better the next day as the flavors deepen, so be sure to make enough that you’ll have leftovers. You might be wondering what’s so mysterious about something we already know is downright delicious? Well, we’ve got a vintage recipe for you, one that used to be super popular, but that fell out of style somewhere along the way. It’s like a traditional spice cake, but it’s also got a little something extra in it….

You‘ll be happy to know that most of the ingredients this cake calls for are typical pantry staples that you probably already have! Cinnamon not only plays an important part in the cake, but also gets swirled into into yummy cream cheese frosting with hints of vanilla. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet, allowing the unique flavors of the cake to come through and also making it even more moist. No need to run all over the place looking for unusual products that might never be used again. It all comes together in a few easy steps. For this recipe, our mystery ingredient adds an extra layer of flavor.

So, are you still wondering what our big, secret ingredient is? It’s an old-fashioned can of tomato soup that took this recipe over the top! Yep, the gorgeous red color of the soup gives the cake its color without giving it any of the accompanying acidic tomato flavor. Mixing in raisins that plump up while baking really adds another element of sweetness, but you can choose to leave them out if that’s not your thing – we, however, were really happy with the results! Have people try this cake out and see how good it is, then make them guess what the secret ingredient is – they’ll be blown away!

Yield(s): Serves 9

1 hour 15 minutes

4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5
Rated by 10 reviewers
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Ingredients
  • Cake:
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves, optional
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Frosting:
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with butter or non-stick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt until combined.
  3. In a small bowl or in the soup can, stir baking soda into tomato soup and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl or mixer, cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy and lightened in color.
  5. Beat in egg and mix until incorporated, then stir tomato soup into wet mixture, mixing until fully combined.
  6. Gradually stir dry ingredients into tomato mixture, taking care to not over mix, then fold raisins into batter.
  7. Pour batter into greased baking dish and place in oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
  8. While cake is cooling, prepare frosting by creaming together cream cheese and butter. Mix in powdered sugar and cinnamon, then stir in vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.
  9. Once cake is cooled, top with frosting and cut into squares. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from New England Today