I cannot resist cakes with weird ingredients. I just can’t. So, when I came across a recipe for a chocolate cake that had, as the “secret” ingredient, a can of condensed tomato soup, I knew I was going to have to make it.
The recipe came from a recent Salvation Army score comprised of ALL handwritten recipe cards and recipe clippings, sans boxes. There were about five or six collections of cards from different women, spanning the 1950’s-1990’s and I managed to snag them all for only $2. In this stack of wonderfulness, I came across the recipe for this Black Magic Cake with tomato soup twice; once handwritten from the 1970’s and another was a clipping from a grocery store handout from 1994.
I did some research for this cake, because I was convinced that it must have it’s origins in a mid-century Campbell’s recipe. But I hit a dead-end. I even asked Sharon from the Flickr group, “Gee, That Food Looks Terrible” and she couldn’t put her finger on it, either. But what I know so far is this: Cakes made with tomato soup are very common in Depression cooking, and are also common in mid-century cooking. Even though I can’t lock down the source or the exact year, this recipe could very well be from the 1960’s or even earlier. This recipe is also very similar to Hershey’s Black Magic Cake, which uses a cup of cold coffee instead of tomato soup, and I think the debut year for that recipe was 1934.
But I have to tell you I don’t care exactly where the recipe came from. I know this is usually the part of the post where tell you how I felt while I was making the latest dish and trying to keep the end result a surprise, but this time I am letting the cat out of the soup can early and telling you that this cake was amazing.
I know, I am ruining this post, but I don’t care. This cake was just that good.
I even made this cake twice in one week, because that is how good it was. I originally made the recipe exactly with no substitutions according to the rules here on the Mid-Century Menu, and I made it in a 13×9 pan because I was lazy and didn’t feel like frosting a layer cake.
And the batter smelled bad. It smelled really bad! I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes at this point. But then…
It came out of the oven and the finished cake smelled so good, and it was so moist and delicious. And Tom kept eating so much of it.
“This cake is so good.”
“I know!”
“I am getting another piece.”
“No don’t! This is your third piece already. And it isn’t even 10:00 am yet!”
“I want it!”
“We have to get rid of this thing. It’s like tomato-chocolate-crack.”
Finally, we agreed that we had to send the cake away to be eaten by Tom’s co-workers, otherwise we were going to eat the whole thing by ourselves in two days.
But we couldn’t stop thinking about the cake. We daydreamed about it. We pined for it. We cursed the decision to give it away. And so, when our neighbors invited us over for dinner that Saturday, we knew exactly which cake we were going to make to take for dessert.
Oh yes. It’s back!
This time I tweaked it a little, and it ended up being even better than the first one. It was moist, very chocolately, had an excellent depth of flavor provided by the tomato soup and it was very stable. I was easily able to bake it in two 8 inch layer pans, turn the cakes out with no problems AND split each layer with no turntable and just a serrated knife. The layers took quite a bit of flapping back and forth as I filled the cake, and never once cracked or crumbled. And this sucker stayed moist, too. Three days later I got an email from our neighbor who took leftover cake home, exclaiming on how moist the cake still was.
Total success.
But you don’t have to take just my word for it. You can also check out Tom’s face.
From the first taste-test and…
From the second tasting.
The Verdict: Amazing! Tom has decided this is his new favorite chocolate cake, and I am never to make a different one again. Ever.
*Note – The layer cake is frosted with Vintage Bakery Frosting, and filled with a vintage chocolate frosting/filling that I will be posting soon!
A wonderful, chocolately cake that stays moist for days. Is stable enough for a layer cake, but has a nice crumb. Loved it!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups AP flour (or 1 3/4 cups plus 2 T cake flour)
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 can condensed tomato soup
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Sift together first 6 ingredients.
- Add next 5 ingredients, and beat on medium speed for 6 minutes.
- Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or 2 round cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 mins. (start checking after 30 mins if making rounds)
LAST DAY FOR GLISTENING AND JIGGLY SUBMISSIONS!
This is it, it’s the last day to send in your submission for our vintage gelatin recipe contest! Send us any vintage recipe you’ve got, good or bad! Email them to ruth@midcenturymenu.com or ruth@nopatternrequired.com . We have tons of great prizes, AND you get to see Tom choke down your worst and enjoy your best gelatin dishes.
Come on! You know you want to!
I’m so happy to have discovered your blog! So interesting!
I didn’t know they used to use tomato soup in chocolate cake, it sounds really strange but the result looks so amazing! I’d like to try it!
You totally should try it, Laura! It’s great!
Tom needs a moment alone with the cake – haha! A former co-worker of mine once brought a tomato soup cake to work and it apparently was terrible on a legendary level. I’m glad (and intrigued!) to hear this one turned out so well. I might have to give it a try!
You just might have to, and undo all the tomato soup stigma from your workplace as well!
Other than the way it looked in the mixer, this cake looks delicious!
I have to admit, I was pretty grossed out by the mixer myself. However, I must say I wasn’t tempted to try the batter!
Yeah. The “Mixer Cam” pic was disgusting. But, I bet it’s good. I’ll have to try it. I made tomato soup bread a few times, from an old recipe. It was wonderful. It was a yeast bread, and it was…. red. Pretty cool.
I can’t wait to try this cake.
How nice–and unusual–to see that expression of utter serenity on Tom’s face.
Annnnnnd….once is enough, really. Could you please hurry back to grossing him out? Kthnx.
This looks awesome, I’m SO going to try this and not tell anyone what’s in the cake until after they have had it!!!
The trick is to have a party and serve this and the mayonasie cake – then after everyone is finished make the guests guess which is mayo and which is tomato…
I remember a tomato soup cake in a community cookbook my grandmother used; it was a spice cake or gingerbread cake though. The cookbook had recipes in it that were “older than dirt,” and that may true of this one, since Campbell’s started producing condensed tomato soup in 1897! Now I want to track down that spice cake recipe…..
I printed the recipe & will be baking this sucker…
I made this cake in the 1970s. It is kind of oddly amazing. I’ll have to try it again.
This mix looks so yucky but the end result looks so good I am keeping it up my sleve for my next dinner party
I have been looking for that recipy for years….we use to make when i was a kid and yes i am child of the 60…just one thing use Campbell soup and nothing else or it will not come out right…thanks.
I can’t wait to try that cake out, especially after the rave reviews from your hubster!
I’ve heard rave reviews of “Tomato Soup Cake”, which I think is a spice-type cake, but never heard of a chocolate cake made with it.
I once tried a chocolate sauerkraut cake, just because of the weird factor. It turned out to be fantastic, oddly enough, so I guess I should give this recipe a try, too.
What a great find at Salvation Army! You’re bound to have a lot of fun with that collection.
Hey, Ruth, when you made the cake did you use actual buttermilk, or did you go the lemon-juice-in-sweet-milk route?
Hey Veg! I used real buttermilk!
Hi there – I need to tell you the story of my encounter with the tomato soup cake.
I attended a depression era/mid century pot luck a couple weeks ago and was looking for something to bring. This sounded interesting, so I tried it. Everyone there LOVED it!
Fast forward a couple days – I was at work – I teach middle school – and I was telling my students about the cake and how good it was. Surprisingly, they begged me to bring it in for them. So yesterday, I did. I made 2 9×13 pans of it, frosted it with the chocolate icing recipe you recommended, and they absolutely devoured it! Several kids wanted seconds. Some kids came in during their lunch hour to see if I had leftovers because word had gotten out about the cake. I even had kids ask for the recipe so that they could have their moms make it!
So there you go – you know it’s good when teenagers will eat it even when they know what the ingredients are!!!
Becky!! That is a fantastic story! I am SO glad everyone liked it.
I just made homemade tomato basil soup, googled for magical properties of tomato soup and this popped up. I am SO making this. What will it do to my waste line?
Hi, I am ready to make this cake could you tell me what size can of tomato soup to use I have the larger size 400g is this ok or should I use the smaller size
Hey Mia!
You should use the smaller can. I think it is about 10 oz or so? Good luck!
What type of oil do you use?
Hi Katie! I just used vegetable oil.
Hi….I stumbled across your page trying to find a recipe for Tomato soup. I just finished baking your tomato soup!! I can not wait to try it…I’m sure it will be delicious! thanks so much for posting! I love all things Retro and shared your page and recipe with my friends! I’m sure they will not believe that I used tomato soup…haha.
Thanks again!
Kimberly
…Tomato soup *Chocolate Cake.
I am making this tonight! I hope it tastes as good as it looks!
I’m so glad I found this website.This cake was delious! I have viewed some other recipes and I can’t wait to try them!
I made this for a party. It’s so good, but it’s RICH. Almost too rich.
I’m planning on making this on Sunday – do you just use Campbell’s condensed tomato soup or is there a specific kind?
Hi Rachel –
You can use any condensed tomato soup, but the cake really tastes the best when you use Campbell’s.
My lovely neighbor Shirley Bloom used to bake this for us in the early 60s I believe. I have missed it ever since! She frosted it with chocolate
We made this today and it was WONDERFUL, just…WONDERFUL! This has to be the best looking chocolate bundt cake my mother has made since I can remember. It tastes good, too. It cuts so cleanly.