The recipe begins with an ingredient most people would serve beside a grilled cheese sandwich.
A full can of condensed tomato soup is poured into sweet cake batter.
There is no savory filling, cheese or tomato topping. Once baked, the dessert becomes a moist spice cake flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, then covered with cream cheese frosting.
The unusual recipe has returned to TikTok and Instagram, where videos showing bright red soup disappearing into cake batter have attracted attention from curious and skeptical viewers.
Most people expect the finished dessert to taste strongly of tomatoes.
It does not.
The dominant flavors are warm spices, brown sugar and tangy cream cheese frosting. The tomato soup adds moisture, acidity and a faint reddish color.
The recipe is almost 100 years old
Tomato soup cake is not a modern social-media invention.
Versions of the dessert began appearing in American cookbooks during the 1920s. Campbell’s later published its own tomato soup dessert recipe in 1942 and promoted several versions during the following decades.
The cake became especially useful during periods when eggs, butter and other baking ingredients were expensive or difficult to obtain. Condensed soup could provide moisture and acidity while helping home cooks prepare a soft cake with modest ingredients.
Modern creators revived the recipe in 2026 after Michael Averett shared a version online. Joshua Godfrey and his mother later tested it, followed by Rachel, known as @eatsbyrachel, whose frosted version helped introduce the cake to another large audience.
Why tomato soup works in cake
Condensed tomato soup contains water, tomato purée, sugar and acidity.
The moisture prevents the cake from becoming dry, while the acidity can react with baking soda and help the batter rise.
Tomatoes also contain natural sweetness and flavor compounds that become less obvious when combined with cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and vanilla.
The soup does not function as a visible filling. It becomes completely incorporated into the batter.
Once the cake is baked and frosted, the flavor is often compared with carrot cake, pumpkin bread or an old-fashioned spice cake.
There may be a very faint tomato note at the end, particularly when the cake is served without frosting, but it should not taste like a bowl of soup.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 can, approximately 300 g, condensed tomato soup
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 100 g packed brown sugar
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 100 g raisins or chopped walnuts, optional
For the cream cheese frosting
- 225 g cream cheese, softened
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened
- 300 to 350 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- One small pinch of salt
The recipe produces one 23 x 33 cm sheet cake or two smaller round layers.
How to make tomato soup cake
1. Prepare the pan
Heat the oven to 175°C, or 350°F.
Grease a 23 x 33 cm baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
The parchment makes it easier to remove and slice the cake after cooling.
2. Cream the butter and sugar
Place the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Beat for two to three minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter and slightly fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Stir in the vanilla.
3. Add the tomato soup
Pour the condensed tomato soup directly into the butter mixture.
Do not dilute it with water.
The batter may look separated or unusually orange at this stage. Continue mixing until the soup is distributed evenly.
The color becomes less intense after the dry ingredients are added.
4. Combine the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together:
- flour;
- cinnamon;
- nutmeg;
- cloves;
- baking soda;
- salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two or three batches.
Mix only until no visible flour remains.
Fold in raisins or chopped walnuts when using them.
5. Bake
Spread the thick batter evenly inside the prepared pan.
Bake for approximately 30 to 35 minutes.
The cake is ready when the center springs back lightly and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Allow it to cool completely before adding frosting.
A warm cake will soften the cream cheese mixture and cause it to slide.
Make the cream cheese frosting
Beat the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar gradually, followed by vanilla and a small pinch of salt.
Continue beating until the frosting becomes light and spreadable.
Spread it across the completely cooled cake.
For a simple finish, add a light dusting of cinnamon or a few chopped walnuts.
The easier viral version
Several recent social-media versions use boxed cake mix instead of preparing the batter from scratch.
A common shortcut combines:
- one box of yellow or spice cake mix;
- one can of condensed tomato soup;
- eggs;
- sugar;
- cinnamon;
- nutmeg;
- canned cream cheese frosting.
The ingredients are mixed in one bowl and baked according to the cake-mix instructions.
This version is faster, but it can become extremely sweet because both the cake mix and the additional sugar contain substantial amounts of sugar.
For a more balanced dessert, reduce or omit the extra sugar when using boxed mix.
Common mistakes
Diluting the soup
Use the condensed soup directly from the can.
Adding the water normally required for serving soup will make the batter too thin.
Using tomato sauce instead
Condensed tomato soup contains a different balance of sugar, starch and acidity.
Plain tomato sauce may create a stronger savory flavor and change the texture.
Adding too many spices
The spices should complement the cake, not hide the tomato through excessive quantities.
Cinnamon, nutmeg and a small amount of cloves are enough.
Frosting the cake while warm
Cream cheese frosting softens quickly.
Wait until the cake has cooled completely.
Can people taste the tomato?
Most tasters describe the cake as a moist spice cake rather than a tomato dessert.
The cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar dominate the flavor. Cream cheese frosting adds sweetness and acidity that further reduce the perception of tomato.
Someone who already knows the secret ingredient may notice a faint tomato aftertaste.
Without being told, most people are unlikely to identify it correctly.
That uncertainty is part of the recipe’s appeal.
The cake looks ordinary after it is baked. The surprising moment happens when the can of soup is opened and poured into the bowl.
Why it became viral again
Tomato soup cake creates an immediate reaction.
The ingredient combination appears wrong, the preparation is easy to film, and the finished cake looks far better than viewers expect.
It also fits renewed interest in Depression-era and mid-century American recipes. Rising grocery costs have encouraged people to revisit desserts created from canned foods and basic pantry ingredients.
The recipe has survived because it is more than an internet joke.
The soup genuinely produces a moist cake.
Nearly a century after American home cooks first began baking it, another generation is opening the same familiar red-and-white can and wondering whether it can possibly work.
Then the cake comes out of the oven.
