• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Jo Cooks

Simple - Easy - Comfort

Join my free recipe email club!
Free eBook
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
    • The Big Book of Jo’s Quick and Easy Meals
    • 30-Minute One-Pot Meals
  • ABOUT JO
  • Contact
  • Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • One Pot
  • Desserts
Home / Recipes
55 minutes
3.67 from 3 votes
4 Comments

Mystery Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
  • 40
by: Joanna Cismaru

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Mystery Cake with Cream Cheese Icing – the secret ingredient will surprise you. The popular mystery cake that dates back to the 1930s.

Mystery Cake with cream cheese icing with a slice cut on a cake stand

I’m super excited to share this recipe with you. This recipe for mystery cake dates back to the 1930s and this cake used to be very popular. You may wonder why it’s called mystery cake and the answer is simple. The special ingredient used in this cake may surprise you.

It’s Campbell’s Tomato Soup!

No lie! Not too worry though, there is no tomato taste in this cake at all. The reason tomato soup was used is because during the 1030s ingredients such as butter and eggs were precious and hard to come by so women had experiment with other ingredients. The tomato soup makes this cake moist and very little butter and eggs are used.

A Slice of Mystery Cake with cream cheese icing

So that’s my little history lesson for today. This cake can be enjoyed all by itself or you can make this phenomenal cream cheese icing. I served this cake for a BBQ we had this past weekend and I wouldn’t tell my family what was in the cake and nobody guessed it, it was compared to a carrot cake, but everyone loved it.

Close up shot of Mystery Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram

a mystery cake on a cake stand with a slice cut and semi removed from the cake

Mystery Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

3.67 from 3 votes
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 55 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 10
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

Cake

  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg well beaten
  • 1 can condensed tomato soup Campbell’s preferred 10 3/4 oz size
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup raisins optional

Cream cheese icing

  • 4 ounce cream cheese softened
  • 4 ounce butter softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spritz a 9″ round cake pan with cooking spray. Line with a parchment circle and spritz with spray again.
  • Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add egg and mix well.
  • Combine baking soda with undiluted soup in can. Let foam for 1 minute. Pour soup mixture into butter/sugar/egg and blend well. Mixture will look slightly curdled. This is normal.
  • In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk well and add to tomato soup mixture. Beat together for 1 minute on medium speed. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven, insert toothpick and if the toothpick comes out clean it’s done.
  • Cool on wire rack and ice as desired.
  • To make icing, mix butter and cream cheese together until smooth, add powdered sugar half a cup at a time and mix for a couple minutes. Add in vanilla and mix. Spread icing over cooled cake.
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!

Enjoy!

  • 40

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

30 recipes from around the world cover.

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe and get a FREE dinner recipes ebook!

a bowl of pasta shells in cauliflower alfredo sauce
Previous Post
Pasta Shells with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
a stack of butterscotch chocolate and pecan cookies on a plate
Next Post
The Perfect Butterscotch, Chocolate and Pecan Cookies

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment & Rate Recipe Cancel reply

Did you make this recipe? Rate it:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Louise Gillespie says

    March 16, 2015 at 5:18 pm

    Judy, I will gladly send you tomato soup…you really need to try this recipe.

    Reply
  2. Louise Gillespie says

    March 16, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    I used to make this cake a lot back in the 80’s, my husbands Mom called it a “Husbands Cake”, I baked it in a bread pan and also used a cream cheese frosting…it stays moist. I had a friend who was turned off by tomato soup in it and refused to eat it. I fixed it and gave it to him and he really loved it. I told him it was a tomato soup cake and he never again turned his nose up at anything I cooked again…you really can not tell it has tomato soup in it…I also added 1/2-1 cup of chopped walnuts to the cake…yum. Thank you for bringing back…

    Reply
    • jo says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:34 pm

      LOL I think I like the name Husbands Cake too 🙂

      Reply
  3. Judy says

    October 11, 2013 at 2:44 pm

    No Campbell soup here. Stupid country

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Joanna Cismaru

Hey there!

I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More…
cover for the big book of jo's quick and easy meals.

My Cookbook

Order Now: Amazon | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Books-A-Million

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe and get a FREE dinner recipes ebook!

Sign me up

Dinner Favorites

black pepper chicken on a bed of rice on a black plate.

Black Pepper Chicken

a slice of pastitsio on a black plate.

Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

side view shot of a piece of eggplant parmesan with marinara sauce in a white plate garnished with parsley and a piece cut out and held by a fork

Eggplant Parmesan

side view shot chicken souvlaki skewers with a little tzatziki on a plate

Chicken Souvlaki

yakisoba noodles with chicken and vegetables in a large serving platter.

Yakisoba

pouring lemon sauce over fried chicken.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

a chicken gyro wrapped in paper and topped with lots of tzatziki sauce with another gyro in the background

Chicken Gyros

homemade hamburger helper lasagna from scratch in a skillet.

One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna

Air Fryer Recipes

a roasted chicken on a serving platter along some roasted root veggies.

Air Fryer Whole Chicken

apple pie bombs on a white plate with the top one cut in half.

Air Fryer Apple Pie Bombs

3 cooked chicken breasts on a cutting board.

Air Fryer Chicken Breast

air fried chicken drumsticks in a basket of an air fryer.

Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

cooked chicken thighs in the basket of an air fryer.

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

eggs inside an air fryer basket.

Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs

lobster tails on a white serving platter.

Air Fryer Lobster Tails

hands pulling apart a mozzarella stick with the rest in the background

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

freshly made bread in air fryer on a cutting board cut into slices.

Air Fryer No Knead Bread

bacon wrapped water chestnuts on a white serving platter.

Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Jo Cooks...

Flavors from around the world

No matter what household we have all grown up in, there is something that has brought us all together here and that is a love and appreciation of food. Food that is from cultures and cuisines across the world has always been a staple of the blog. I'm excited to bring you all a taste of each corner of the earth, every last bite seasoned to perfection and served up with love - from my kitchen to yours.
chow mein in a white asian bowl.

Asian

caprese gnocchi in a sheet pan.

Italian

chicken fajita taquitos with sour cream and salsa on a white platter.

Mexican

chicken and mushroom in creamy dill sauce over a bed of rice in a blue bowl.

Romanian

freshly made lamb korma in a beige braiser.

Indian

freshly made hummus drizzled with olive oil and garnished with tomatoes cucumbers and olives.

Middle Eastern

Trending Now

overhead shot of oven baked chicken breasts in a baking dish

Baked Chicken Breast

overhead shot of oven baked chicken thighs in a pan

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

roast chicken with roast potatoes on a roaster.

Roast Chicken

a prime rib roast sliced on a plate

Prime Rib Roast

Browse All
  • Easy Dinners
  • Instant Pot
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Chicken Recipes
  • Desserts
  • Recipe Index

Featured On

today logo.
huffpost logo.
the washington post logo.
jezebel logo.
countryliving logo.
good housekeeping logo.
lifehack logo.
buzzfeed logo.
mashable logo.
woman's day logo.
health logo.
better homes & gardens logo.
delish logo.
healthline logo.
nbc news logo.
blogloving logo.
university of washington logo.
shape logo.
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
  • About Jo
  • Contact
  • visit my other site: Craving Home Cooked
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2022 · All Rights Reserved · Back to Top
Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

Subscribe and get a free dinner recipes ebook!