Sunday, January 14, 2018

Saigon Cinnamon Tomato Soup Cake



Hello Darlings,

Below is my recipe for a nice tasty nutritional spice cake that is made with some surprising ingredients. In addition, because the original recipe has a long history, which probably predates the depression era, read my "Baker's Note" as well.


Saigon Cinnamon Tomato Soup Cake

Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, or shortening,  softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, well beaten
  • 1 can condensed tomato soup 10 3/4 oz size
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 hazelnut meal/flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup fruit juice
  • 1/2 cup raisins, optional
  • 1/2 cup dates
  • 1/2 cup apricot
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. spray a 9" round cake pan, or 9" x 2" with cooking spray.
  2. Line pan with a parchment circle and spray again.
  3. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add egg and mix well.
  4. Combine baking soda with undiluted soup in can. Let foam for 1 minute.
  5. Pour soup mixture into butter/sugar/egg and blend well.
  6. Mixture will look slightly curdled. This is normal.
  7. In a small bowl combine flour, hazelnut meal, baking powder and spices.
  8. Whisk well and add to tomato soup mixture.
  9. Beat together for 1 minute on medium speed.
  10. Add fruit juice
  11. Blend well, 2 -3 minutes. Until creamy texture
  12. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
  13. After 30 minutes test center of cake with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, remove from oven. If it is still moist, bake the remaining 5 minutes
  14.  Cool on wire rack
  15.  Top each serving with cool whip or ready whip ice as desired.
Baker's Note:

This recipe is a variation on a Great Depression Era tomato soup cake. I learned about it from several YouTube videos and websites. However, after reviewing some of the ingredients in those recipes, I decided to tweak a favorable recipe that called for fewer ingredients.  The most noticeable changes were that I halved the recommended spices as I generally use wholesale spices, which to me are stronger than what is sold in local stores.

In addition, because I like hazelnuts,  I decreased the flour to 1 1/4 cup, and replaced it with a fourth of a cup of hazelnut meal.  This made the batter thicker than it needed to be so I added some fruit juice.  I recommend either Sunny D Original or 100% orange juice.

As for the title of this recipe, it is my personal choice because I used Saigon cinnamon, which is bolder than regular cinnamon, and I like the sound of it.

The trick about many recipes is that  it is fun making them your own. So feel free to add your own tweaks to suit your taste.

Chow!


Related:



Mystery Cake (Tomato Soup Spice Cake)