Tomato Soup Spice Cake with Old Fashioned Caramel Frosting

Written by Published on in Desserts, Holidays, Recipes

A fun vintage recipe for a delicious moist, aromatic, sweet spice cake with a caramel frosting made from caramalized 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!

As for waiting for the cake to cool and then frosting it, Oakley and I couldn’t wait so we just poured the warm frosting over the warm cake still in the pan and it was absolutely delicious. I mean I’m sure the frosting wasn’t quite even but it was worth not waiting…So frost warm at your own risk but it worked for us haha! You can see where the frosting is a bit runny still in the photo below! It will set once it sits.

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 Spice Cake with Old Fashioned Caramel Frosting
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Tomato Soup Spice Cake with Old Fashioned Caramel Frosting

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 unsalted butter, softened or at room temperature

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 can condensed tomato soup

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1 cup raisins *optional

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts *optional

  • Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter

  • 1/3 cup whole milk

  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

  • pinch of salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.
  • Add the egg and soup and mix well.
  • Sift the flour, soda, 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 28-30 minutes. Don’t over bake!
  • Once the cake is about cool start on the frosting.
  • Frosting
  • Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
  • 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.
  • Pour this over the cake and smooth out!
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