Tomato Soup Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I made this recipe ages ago when my parents were down visiting, but am only getting it up on my blog just now. I think I made it in the middle of last summer... My grandmother used to make this cake for us when we were kids. The name is odd indeed... and yes, it really does have a can of tomato soup in it! But it really just tastes like spice cake. I learned when my grandmother was visiting recently that this recipe originates from Atlantic Canada.

Many of you already know this story, but I had made this back in university, right before I got married and had been serving it to my husband and his best friend for several nights for dessert. They both loved it and went on and on about how great it was. Until one day when his best friend asked the name of the cake... and from that point on, no one touched the cake again and I ended up tossing the second half of it. So don't let people know what it is until they've already eaten it! As it's quite delicious, despite the name.

It's wonderful with cream cheese icing, which makes it nice and decadent. I had made this awhile back and ended up freezing it, icing and all. And it came out of the freezer just fine and I served it to my parents for dessert on one of their visits to see Logan.



This recipes comes from the Campbell's Quick and Easy Recipes cookbook. If I recall correctly, I believe that I got this cookbook back when I was in school by sending away a bunch of soup labels. Yes... admittedly, I'm probably the only person in the world who would actually do that :)  I barely use it at all anymore, but this is the one that I still make from time to time.

Classic Tomato Soup Cake

2 C flour (I use whole-wheat)
1 1/3 C sugar (can reduce to 1C)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 can condensed tomato soup 
1/2 C vegetable shortening (I use light Becel)
2 eggs
1/4 C water
cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare a 13 x 9 inch dish.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, soup, shortening, eggs and water.  With mixer at low speed, beat well until mixed.  At high speed, beat 4 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.  Pour batter into pan.

3.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes.  Frost with cream cheese icing, if desired.

The book says that the recipe makes 8 servings, but it makes way, way more than that.

My recipe for cream cheese icing comes from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 C butter, softened
2 C confectioners' sugar, sifted if lumpy
1 tsp. vanilla

1.  Combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.

2.  Beat well until perfectly smooth and spreadable.