Campbell’s Tomato Soup Cake {Bakeolution}

I am innately intrigued by the unusual, especially when it comes to dessert.  Last week, a coworker had to talk me off the cliff as I was about to order foie gras crème brûlée, and really it’s only for my pants sake that I’m grateful (seriously, you can’t tell me you’re not curious!)  So when I saw this tomato soup recipe, my interest was peaked.

The story behind tomato soup cake, however, is unlikely foie gras crème brûlée in just about every way possible. It is not a staple of the latest wave of molecular gastronomy, but rather an enduring recipe that dates back to depression-era cookbooks. The originally versions were very basic cakes that used tomato soup to bring moisture to a recipe that included very little dairy. You likely would have seen a single layer cake with a very simple icing if it had any icing at all.

I decided to make this cake for Bakeolution this month, seeing as the point of Bakeolution is to try new things.  I think many of my coworkers were a little weirded out by the concept, but those who did try it discovered that it’s essentially just a moist spice cake – the flavor of the tomato soup doesn’t really come through.  One observation I thought was pretty accurate is that this tasting like a carrot cake without the texture of the grated carrots, raisins and nuts.  I used two different frostings: a traditional cream cheese frosting I had leftover for the filling and a recipe I found on the Kitchen for the icing – a marshmallow fluff, cream cheese and cool whip blend that kept with the retro theme.  As I note below, you can certainly pick one for the sake of ease and I personally preferred the traditional cream cheese frosting.

Tomato Soup Cake

A depression era recipe adopted by Campbell’s and adapted by The Kitchen

For the cake:

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and warm
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato soup
• 1/2 cup hot water

For the frosting*:

• 7 oz marshmallow fluff
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz tub Cool Whip

For the filling*: 

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup whipping cream
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

How-to:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9″ cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugars, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs and brown sugar. Add butter mixture into flour mixture and whisk to combine.
4. Add the tomato soup and whisk to combine. Add in 1/4 cup of the hot water and whisk to combine. Pour in remaining hot water and whisk to combine.
5. Pour half the batter into each cake pan, and cook for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of crumbs and cake springs back when gently pressed. Transfer  to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.  Level if needed.
6. To make frosting: combine the marshmallow fluff and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer bowl and beat until combined. Turn off mixer and stir in Cool Whip.
7.  To make the filling: add softened butter and cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Mix until well incorporated.  Add in  whipping cream and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix until well combined.  Sprinkle in confectioners sugar a bit at a time and mix until the frosting is smooth and lump free.
8. Once cool, spread filling atop first cake and carefully place second cake on top.  Frost the cake starting with the sides.

*Alternatively, you can definitely use one or the other.  I actually preferred the straight cream cheese frosting to be totally honest.

Johanna