My Mom recently handed down to me this old cookbook, the Caswell Centennial Cookbook from 1979, put together by the Caswell Home Extension Club. I’m sure you don’t know that Caswell is a small town in Northern Maine where my family comes from.
This recipe book is a treasure to me because it includes some best dishes from my Grammie and Aunt. This is the best map I could find to show you where Caswell is (photo from Google Maps). It’s waaaaay up there and it’s a tiny little town. But the folks there sure know how to cook! This month’s Food Challenge is to either can something or make something with a canned good, and when I came across my Grammie’s recipe for Tomato Soup Cake I knew I wanted to give it a whirl. Now, back in the day they weren’t so concerned with cooking healthy so her recipe included 1/2 cup of shortening in it. Blech. No thanks. I had to swap that out for some applesauce and canola oil and make a couple of other tweaks, too. Still, I think she’d have been proud.
This Tomato Soup Cake is not only a great way to use up some of those cans you probably have in your pantry, but it tastes delicious! It’s super moist and tastes about like a spice cake. I won’t go so far to say it’s healthy, but the recipe does include a can of tomato soup and applesauce. So it’s not ALL bad! Watch out for that cream cheese icing though! You’ll be licking the beaters!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour the bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients except sugar in a bowl and stir with a whisk or fork until well mixed. Set aside. To your mixer bowl add the sugar, applesauce, canola oil, water, and soup. Mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed. Slowly add the dry ingredients, about half of it at a time, and mix after each addition until well combined. Pour the cake mix into the pan, using the back of your spatula to level it out. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine was done in 25). Allow to cool completely before frosting. Icing Directions: Add the cream cheese and butter to a bowl and beat with your mixer until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time. If your icing is too stiff, add the milk to make it creamier. I added the milk and it was soooo creamy and good! Ice your cake (and then lick the beaters!).Tomato Soup Cake With Cream Cheese Icing
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Instructions
I am participating in a Canning Challenge this month with a group of other bloggers. We’ll each be posting 10 recipes in the month of April either made with something canned, or something we’ve canned!
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