This sore spice from the 1970s has a surprising pantry -ingredient

If there is one thing that stands out at the baking area with large depression era, this is how resourceful home chefs managed to be with almost nothing available. Ingredients taken for granted today, such as eggs, butter, cream and sugar, were often too expensive or difficult to find.

I am so impressed with how often bakers read on unexpected substitutions to make things work. One who continues to emerge on Reddit’s R/Old_recipes uses tomato soup instead of dairy, which in this Campbell’s tomato soup cake from the 1970s.

A short story about tomato soup in baking

Used as an alternative to milk or cream, tomato soup began to appear in baking areas in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In the 50s, Campbells promoted its own tomato soup cake recipe in cookbooks and on CAN tags.

If you are skeptical of using condensed tomato soup instead of milk, don’t be. It works surprisingly well in baking! Its natural acidity and thickeners, especially a substance called pectin, help maintain moisture and activate sourer.

The result is a rich, sore crumb much like a spice or butter cake. With the right combination of spices, fans will say that it tastes like a standard spice cake.

What I was thinking about tomato soup the cake

With an ingredient substitution this unexpected I couldn’t resist testing Campbell’s recipe. The version that makes the rounds on Reddit requires the usual cake-based such as all-purpose flour, sugar, eggs, crisco, baking powder and baking powder plus cinnamon, allspice, cloves, water and of course tomato soup.

Immediately, I saw that mixing the dry and wet ingredients gave the dough an almost pumpkin spice color. I could smell the spices as I mixed, which honestly got me really excited about how the cake would turn out. After baking at 350 ° F for approx. 35 minutes, screwed my tension another notch when I saw the beautiful golden brown color of the finished cake.

Judging just by the smell coming from the oven, you would never guess that this cake had tomato soup in it. And when I took my first bite, all my doubts disappeared.

The cake is moist, rich and satisfactory without hint of tomato soup flavor at all. The spices steal the show completely and I can easily see how the addition of a cream cheese frosting or even a tablespoon of cocoa powder could make this recipe extra special.

Does this recipe hold up?

After experiencing the magic of myself, it is obvious why Bakers in the depression era used tomato soup as a replacement for dairy. It delivers a damp, sore bite and rich flavor as milk or cream would.

Campbell’s tomato soup cake is a nostalgic reminder that some of our best creations come from moments of dispute. Surprisingly ingredients like this remind me of how magical baking can be.