Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

-Another wartime, budget recipe from the archives. A delicious spice cake that uses condensed tomato soup. Flavorful and intriguing!-

I know what most of you are thinking. You read the title and silently said to yourself, "The hell...?"
This reaction doesn't surprise me, but a few days ago it did. When I told people I was doing a tomato soup cupcake, everyone seemed shocked and taken aback. Apparently, few people outside of the south have heard of this.

Tomato soup cake is pretty common in southern cooking, and was a popular option in the 40's and 50's for low income families. The reason is that this recipe requires just the bare essentials you probably have in your pantry and very litte of them. The soup provides the right amount of sugar and salt, and creates a unique spice cake. No one will ever guess the secret ingredient, and after you tell them, the shock on their face and the joy of the next new, adventurous bite is worth all the 5 minutes it took to make these little cupcakes.

The cream cheese frosting isn't exactly war time 1940's, but it does give this a nice bit of flavor. Tomato soup cake was usually flavored with margarine (butter was hard to come by, though this recipe makes use of it, it was just head over heels better that way).

Tomato Soup Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes

What You'll Need...
1 (10.75) ounce can condensed tomato soup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup of butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 1/2 cups of sifted self-rising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
crushed walnuts (optional)

What You'll Do...
1) Set the butter and egg out and let them come to room temperature. Set the over to 325 degrees F (165 C).

2) Combine the tomato soup and baking soda in a bowl and let it stand. Use a deep bowl as the mixture will rise.

3) Cream the butter, sugar, and spices in bowl. Add the egg and mix for 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato soup and soda mixture. It will look funky, but don't worry.

4) Mix the flour and baking powder together, and then beat into the mixture until just combined.

5) Pour evenly into cupcake papers. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The cupcakes will be soft. Let them cool then cover with icing. Let them sit overnight in the fridge so the flavors can meld, or just take one in each hand and start eating.

6) Optional: Walnuts can be folded into the batter, or crumbled on top after being iced. The bitter and sweetness of the walnuts, plus the soft resistent crunch really add a pop to these cupcakes.


Cream Cheese Frosting

What You'll Need...
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar

What You'll Do...
1) Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. Beat them together until well combined.

2) Add the poweder sugar and then the vanilla. Add more podered sugar if you want for desired thickness. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.