This tomato soup cake has to be one of the more unusual recipes we've come across!
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
Here’s What Happened When We Made This 1950 Recipe for “Magic Tomato Soup Cake”
Updated on Jun. 11, 2024
I think vintage desserts like this tomato soup cake are a fascinating snapshot of the past. Decades before recipes could go viral on TikTok, they were discovered the old-fashioned way: by home cooks who clipped recipes from the newspaper or a magazine to share with friends and neighbors.
This retro recipe first appeared in community cookbooks in the 1920s. It didn’t take Campbell’s Soup long to see that the cake was popular, so they began promoting the recipe in ads for tomato soup. This tomato soup cake continued to grow in popularity over the decades and saw its peak around the 1950s. I decided to give this retro recipe a try!
Why Does This Cake Use Tomato Soup?
During the Great Depression and World War II, home cooks had to find ways to make rationed ingredients last longer. Ingredients like oil, mayonnaise and tomato soup were used in place of butter, milk and eggs to create moist and flavorful cakes. (This wacky cake is make without butter, milk or eggs!)
How to Make Magic Tomato Soup Cake
I based my cake on this vintage recipe. It calls for a loaf pan, but a loaf just doesn’t feel like cake, so I used an 8″ square cake pan instead. The recipe makes 9 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 10.75-ounce can of tomato soup
- Optional: 1/3 cup raisins and 1/3 cup chopped nuts
Tools You’ll Need
Directions
Step 1: Sift the dry ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom and sides of your cake pan with nonstick spray.
Pour the cake flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Sift the ingredients together three times. (We love this charming direction from the original recipe, and sifting does ensure that everything is blended and smooth. This is how to sift if you don’t have a sifter.)
Step 2: Blend the butter, sugar and egg
Place the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Blend them together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides once. Add in the egg. Blend the mixture for about 5 minutes on medium-high speed until it’s light in color with lots of air incorporated.
Step 3: Add the dry mixture and the soup
Pour about half of the dry mixture into the bowl and run the mixer on low speed for just a few seconds. Then pour in the whole can of tomato soup and run the mixer for a few seconds more.
Pour in the remaining dry ingredients and blend at low speed just until all of the dry ingredients are mixed in.
Step 4: Time to bake
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread it into the corners and even out the top. Place the pan in your hot oven, and bake the cake for 35-40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a crumb or two. Place the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Serve
After 10 minutes, carefully remove the cake from the pan. Allow it to cool completely. You can frost the cake if you want—I used a simple buttercream with a little cinnamon added in. A cream cheese frosting would also be a great choice, or the cake can also be simply dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Store leftover cake covered tightly at room temperature for up to five days.
Here’s What I Thought
If you like spice cake or an old-fashioned carrot cake, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one—and I did, too! Tomato soup really does keep the cake moist, and the blend of spices is lovely. The soup also gives the cake an interesting pinkish-orange color, which made it all the more intriguing when I dared my family to guess the mystery ingredient in this dessert. (They were stunned when I finally told them!) A layer of frosting is delicious on this cake, but I also found that the slices tasted good plain. The cake would be tasty with raisins, golden raisins or chopped walnuts stirred into the batter.
Before I cut into the cake, I wondered, would I be able to taste the tomato soup? And the answer is, a little! Although my family said they could only taste the spice, I caught just the faintest flavor of tomato. It still tasted amazing, though.
The original recipe for this cake has no eggs and it definitely reflects the frugality of a Depression-era dessert. I tried this recipe as written, and even though it turned out moist, it was also very heavy and dense. Plus there was a little too much clove for my taste. When I made a second cake using the modified recipe above, with butter, an egg and a pinch of baking powder, the cake turned out much lighter. The spices are more balanced as well.
More '50s Cake Recipes We Can't Resist
Orange Dream Angel Food CakeA basic angel food cake becomes a heavenly indulgence, thanks to a hint of orange flavor swirled into every bite. The orange color makes slices of this 1950s cake look so pretty when arranged on individual dessert plates.—Lauren Osborne, Holtwood, Pennsylvania
Icebox CakeYou don't have to bake to serve a wonderful dessert! This icebox cake is made from chocolate wafers and whipping cream. It is so delicious.—Cindy Hawkins, New York, New York
Skillet Pineapple Upside-Down CakeFor a change of pace, you can substitute fresh or frozen peach slices for the pineapple in this old-fashioned recipe. —Bernardine Melton, Paola, Kansas. If you want to try more upside-down cakes, check out this cranberry duff.
Chocolate Chiffon CakeThis chocolate chiffon cake may take some practice to perfect, but once you do, it may be difficult to remember what your life was like without it.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese FrostingAs a mother of three sons, sweets are a staple in my kitchen! I buy ripe fruit on sale and freeze it to make this cake. My banana cake with cream cheese frosting is a favorite among loved ones at my family picnics and dinners. —Bonnie Krause, Irvona, Pennsylvania
Chocolate Cake with Vanilla FrostingYou can get a moist, flavorful cake without any weird ingredients using this recipe for chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. The smooth vanilla buttercream filling makes each slice a decadent delight.
Pineapple Pudding CakeMy mother used to love making this easy pineapple sunshine cake in the summertime. This 1950s cake is so cool and refreshing that it never lasts very long! —Kathleen Worden, North Andover, Massachusetts
Chocolate Fudge CakeChocolate fudge cake is the cure for any chocolate lover's sweet tooth and a staple in baking 101. Here's how to make it at home.
Pineapple Carrot CakeThis moist cake with cream cheese frosting is the best I've ever eaten. It's so simple, too, because it uses two jars of baby food instead of fresh carrots that need to be grated. —Jeanette McKenna, Vero Beach, Florida
Angel Food CakeThis top-rated angel food cake recipe is a light and airy dessert everyone loves. It's heavenly served with berries or other fresh fruit and a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Banana Nut CakeIf you need an idea for what to do with those few over-ripe bananas nobody wants to eat, consider throwing together this quick and easy banana nut cake. Gently sweet and nicely crunchy, it's a total crowd-pleaser.
Rhubarb Custard CakeRhubarb thrives in my northern garden and is one of the few crops the pesky moose don't bother! Of all the desserts I've tried, this rhubarb custard cake is my first choice. It has old-fashioned appeal but is so simple to prepare. —Evelyn Gebhardt, Kasilof, Alaska
Hawaiian Sunset CakeThis three-layer sunset cake is pretty enough for company, but it's so simple to make that you'll find yourself baking it often. A boxed mix keeps it convenient while the fruity filling makes it a crowd-pleaser. —Kara De la Vega, Suisun City, California
Mayonnaise CakeYes, mayonnaise cake! This unconventional ingredient will produce the richest, tangiest chocolate cake of your life.
Apple Stack CakeThis simple apple stack cake recipe features eight dense layers of cake nestled between a spiced apple mixture for a celebration-worthy dessert.
Mom’s Citrus Buttermilk CakeEveryone raves over this lovely lemon cake. It's divine with fresh raspberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. —Joan Hallford, North Richland Hills, Texas
Spice CakeThis spice cake recipe has stood the test of time and it's one you'll probably hand down yourself.
Hot Milk CakeTravel back in time with this easy, old-fashioned hot milk cake recipe. Moist and tender, like a sponge cake and pound cake hybrid, it's the perfect snacking cake!
Coconut Chiffon CakeToasted coconut adds visual appeal to this tall and impressive cake. With an airy texture and heavenly coconut-ginger flavor, it's a lovely end to meals throughout the year.
Devil’s Food Snack CakeMy husband and his friends request this devil's food snack cake for camping trips because it’s easy to transport. That makes it great for taking to potlucks and other events, too, as there's no frosting involved. —Julie Danler, Bel Aire, Kansas
Yellow Cake RecipeA yellow cake recipe is a staple for any home baker. This recipe comes complete with chocolate buttercream frosting to make the ultimate birthday celebration treat.
