Tomato Soup Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting

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A fun vintage recipe for a delicious moist, aromatic, sweet spice cake with a caramel frosting made from caramelized brown sugar and butter.

Ya’ll! I seriously thought it was a joke when I read “tomato soup cake,” then I knew I must immediately try it!

I told my Mama I was making it and she said “eww.” Totally ok if you have that same reaction. But I’m here to tell you, I tried it so you HAVE to as well because it is out of this world delicious! Oakley asked for a second helping and I found myself spooning the crumbs and frosting out of the pan where we cut our slices. Also, it’s super fun to serve then tell people what it’s made of! This caramel icing is so amazing but it would be just as delicious with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

And guess what? You can’t taste the tomato soup!

You can make this brown sugar caramel as a glaze or turn in into a frosting by adding powdered sugar. We performed a taste test with 1/2 the glaze and 1/2 the frosting. They are both delicious. The glaze has more of a brown sugar feel and the frosting is sweeter and thicker. We had 3 votes for the glaze, 1 for the frosting and 1 who couldn’t decide!

Yep there it is…tomato soup right into the batter!

I absolutely love vintage recipes. They are simple, with simple ingredients, reminiscent of simpler (yet often harder) times. They remind me of my Nana.

History of Tomato Soup Spice Cake

According to Campbell’s website, this recipe first appeared in an undated cookbook from approximately the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. The recipe has continued to evolve and adapted to use with many box cake mixes that became popular in the 1960’s.

Here are some fun advertisements for Tomato Soup Cake!

Tomato Soup Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
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Tomato Soup Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Recipe by Paige MurrayCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

28

minutes
Calories

300

kcal

A deliciously moist, aromatic spice cake flavored with cinnamon & cloves.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup salted butter, softened or at room temperature

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 can condensed tomato soup

  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1 cup raisins *optional

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts *optional

  • Glaze or Frosting

  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup butter (I used salted)

  • 1/2 cup milk (Any kind will do. I use skim)

  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

  • up to 1 cup powdered sugar* (Optional for more of sweeter frosting instead of a glaze)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the egg, soup and baking soda and mix well.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices into the liquid ingredients.
  • Mix until smooth.
  • Stir in the raisins and walnuts if using.
  • Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean, about 28-33 minutes. Don’t over bake! Mine takes 32 minutes.
  • Once the cake is cooling start on the frosting.
  • Glaze or Frosting
  • Melt the butter in a small pot.
  • Whisk in the brown sugar, milk, salt and cinnamon.
  • Mix together with a wire whisk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Boil for one minute (turn the heat down if it is about to boil over).
  • Remove from heat and set aside to cook and thicken about 10 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes.
  • If you want more of a frosting, slowly whisk in the 1 cup of powdered sugar. (You can thicken with more powdered sugar or make a thinner frosting by adding less powdered sugar).
  • Pour this over the warm cake and smooth out!
  • Let cool before serving.
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