Once Upon a Menu: Mystery Cake

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If you can guess the secret ingredient in my mystery cake i'll send you $1000!

OMG, it's Campbell's Tomato Soup! Popular in the 1920s' and '30's, this cake recipe made its way into The Joy of Cooking by 1964. The soup creates a moist crumb close to carrot cake, and the cream cheese glaze comes together in a snap.

Did you guess right? Let's get real, I ain't sending you money, but for anyone who did comment you might be automatically entered for a chance to win my cookbook - The Infinite Feast, for FREE! For more recipes follow my Once Upon a Menu series on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @theinfinitefeast.

Mystery Cake

Makes 1 Bundt cake, 8 to 10 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus softened butter for pan

3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup, undiluted

1 large orange, zested and juiced

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Red gel food coloring

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Heat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

In small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook till golden and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add walnuts, cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove walnuts with slotted spoon; set aside on paper-toweled plate. Cool butter 10 minutes.

In large bowl, beat together brown butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then tomato soup and orange zest.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and pie spice. Fold into tomato mixture till just combined. Stir in red gel food coloring, a little at a time, till desired color is reached. Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake 30 minutes, till tester inserted in thickest part comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert onto serving plate, cool completely.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar till smooth. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup orange juice and milk, one tablespoon at a time, till glaze is smooth and pourable. Pour over cooled cake, allowing glaze to run down sides.

Garnish with remaining brown-butter walnuts.

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I made it, and I ate it!

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