Tomato Soup Cake With Cream Cheese Glaze
By Emma
Certified Culinary Professional
•
Recipe tested & approved
A spiced cake using tomato soup for moisture, swapped flour and spices, raisins replaced with dried cherries and walnuts swapped for pecans, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. Mixing dry with wet in stages, batter thick but loose enough. Bake until crack lines start on top, tester clean but crumb moist. Cool fully before frosting, frosting spread thick but soft, refrigerate then temper before serving. Aromas of allspice and cinnamon rise from oven, dense crumb flecked with fruit and nuts. No nuts swap included. Visual cues and texture guide timing over rigid clock.
Prep:
25 min
Cook:
40 min
Total:
Servings:
12 servings
#baking
#cake
#spiced dessert
#cream cheese frosting
#whole wheat
#cherry dessert
Tomato soup as cake liquid? Odd combo but works if you know what you’re doing. Moist but dense crumb, spice warm but never overpowering. Tried white flour first — meh — whole wheat pastry throws better texture without heaviness. Switched raisins out for tart cherries; nuts? Pecans rarer, deeper flavor than walnuts. Coffee splash wakes spices, adds subtle depth. Oven times vary, watch surfaces, cracks and toothpick cues. Glaze isn’t typical vanilla; almond extract here adds nuance, cuts richness. Chill glaze firm but let soften slightly before serving. Learned the hard way that rushing frosting or underbaking kills both texture and flavor. Worth the patience. Watch batter consistency — too stiff? Add coffee; too loose? Add bit extra flour. Simple, rustic, no fuss.
Ingredients
- 240 g (1 5/8 cups) whole wheat pastry flour
- 15 ml (3 tsp) baking powder
- 10 ml (2 tsp) allspice
- 5 ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) ground nutmeg
- 90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 225 g (1 cup) brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 can 284 ml (10 oz) condensed tomato soup
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) strong black coffee
- 100 g (3/4 cup) dried cherries
- 60 g (1/2 cup) chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 140 g (5 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 25 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 5 ml (1 tsp) almond extract
- 200 g (1 1/2 cups) sifted powdered sugar
About the ingredients
Whole wheat pastry flour adds nuttiness and structure, ideal substitute for all-purpose in this recipe, lending heartier crumb but avoiding toughness. Coffee replaces plain water to deepen spice notes; if sensitive to caffeine, instant decaf or strong tea works. Dried cherries instead of raisins offer tang and chew contrast but raisins also fine. Pecans have texture advantage over walnuts, less bitter if toasted beforehand. Butter must be softened, never melted, for proper creaming—too warm and batter separates, lumps form. Sugar is brown for moisture and caramel hints, swapping half for white sugar leads to dryer crumb. Tomato soup’s acidity balances sugar, activating baking powder. If condensed soup unavailable, mix 1 part tomato puree with 1 part cream and reduce salt.
Method
Cake
- 1. Rack in center of oven. Preheat to 175 °C (347 °F). Butter a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 inch) glass or metal pan. I prefer glass here; it browns edges gently.
- 2. Whisk together flours, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Sifting helps break lumps and aerates flour, important for crumb evenness.
- 3. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy and lighter in color — about 3 minutes. This traps air, helps lightness. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each until fully integrated — don’t rush or you’ll get curdling.
- 4. Alternate adding dry ingredients with tomato soup and coffee, starting and ending with dry. Mix on low speed, scraping down sides. Batter will be dense, not runny. If too stiff, splash a little more coffee, but avoid overmixing or gluten tightens.
- 5. Fold in cherries and chopped pecans with spatula. They give bites of sweet tartness and crunch.
- 6. Pour batter evenly into pan. Tap pan on counter once for air bubbles to rise. Slide into oven immediately.
- 7. Bake 38–42 minutes. Start peeking at 35 minutes; top should be matte with subtle cracks, tester inserted centered should come out mostly clean with moist crumb. Underbake = gummy center; watch closely towards end.
- 8. Remove and let cool on wire rack for at least 90 minutes. The cake firms as it cools — crucial before glazing.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 9. Beat cream cheese and butter in a chilled bowl until smooth and creamy. A warm bowl makes this greasy.
- 10. Add almond extract, blending well. Almond notes cut rich tanginess.
- 11. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth but spreadable. Don’t dump sugar all at once; lumps form otherwise.
- 12. Spread glaze evenly over cooled cake. Thick enough to see knife marks but not slide off.
- 13. Refrigerate glaze-coated cake for 1.5–2 hours. Firm glaze makes slicing cleaner.
- 14. Let rest 15–20 minutes at room temperature before serving. Makes glaze soft and flavors open.
- 15. Store covered in fridge up to 3 days; serve within that window to avoid drying.
Cooking tips
Rack placement central for even heat, glass pan browns edges gently but watch for overbaking—metal cooks faster. Creaming butter and sugar traps air needed for rise — skip or rush, dense cake. Introduce eggs slow to avoid breaking batter. Alternate dry/wet ensures uniform mix, maintaining air bubbles. Mixing at low speed prevents gluten over-development yielding dry, tough cake. Folding fruit and nuts last preserves their texture and avoids bruising fruit. Baking time flexible; visual and tactile cues trump clock – dry tester but still moist crumbs key. Cooling unwraps crumb structure; warm cake + frosting = meltdown. Glaze smoothness relies on butter and cheese temperature; bench chill thickens it up. Don’t overbeat sugar or dust clouds develop. Refrigeration crucial to set glaze; serve at near room temp so it’s tender yet stable. Store wrapped to prevent dryness and glaze cracking.
Chef's notes
- 💡 Butter and sugar beaten till pale and airy - crucial. Skip or rush that step and cake turns dense, crumb heavy. Use softened, not melted butter. Too warm and batter splits, lumps hide in mix. Electric mixer mid speed, about three mins. Air trapped weighs on final rise, texture too dense otherwise.
- 💡 Eggs added slow. One at time, mix after each till fully blended. Rushing leads to curdle, uneven crumb. Batter fragile post eggs — gentle folding for nuts and fruit. Preserve chunks, avoid bruising dried cherries. Pecans rough chop adds texture contrast but avoid dust or they will sink.
- 💡 Mix dry ingredients first with sifting. Helps aerate flour, break clumps. Whole wheat pastry flour acts different than AP flour - more texture but less toughness. Coffee splash replaces water here. Adds subtle depth, wakes spices. Adjust coffee to batter stiffness. Too stiff? More liquid. Too loose? Add flour. Keep low speed during mixing. Overbeat gluten develops, moist crumb flecks lost.
- 💡 Oven set mid rack for even heat flow. Glass pan browns edges softer than metal; watch timing close. Start checking crack pattern 35 mins in. Crack lines signal structure forming inside. Insert tester mid pan; mostly clean but crumbs moist needed. Underbake leaves gummy center. Baking time not fixed, cues important for crumb and crust feel.
- 💡 Cooling critical. Cake on wire rack minimum 90 mins. Warm cake plus glaze melts frosting, slides off pan. Scene changes aroma too - allspice cinnamon notes lift as cooling finishes. Glaze temp critical for spread: too warm, glaze greasy, too cool hard to spread evenly. Chill glaze until firm but not rock hard. Temper glaze before serving to soften edges for slicing neat.
Common questions
Can I substitute raisins for cherries?
Yes, raisins work but less tart. Raisins soften differently, can affect moisture and crumb texture. Dried cherries keep tart contrast, but raisins also fine if preferred or on hand.
What if batter too thick or loose?
Too thick? Splash coffee slowly, just a little. Too loose? Add small flour amounts, sifted to avoid lumps. Mixing gently important. Overmixed batter toughens crumb from gluten development.
How to know when cake is done?
Look for matte surface, fine cracks on top. Tester in center comes out mostly clean, moist crumbs attached ok. Underbaked gets gummy center, not stable for glazing immediately. Timing varies oven to oven.
How to store leftovers?
Wrap in plastic, fridge best for glaze. Can freeze if sliced, wrapped tightly. Thaw in fridge overnight. Glaze may firm too much when chilled, temper before serving for soft texture.
