Yield
Serves 12 people
Category
Course
In the 1930s, tomato soup cakes were all the rage, yet they were a mystery because they did not taste like tomato soup. Make your tomato cake with ripe tomatoes from your own garden!
Cake
Ingredients
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped raisins
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and shortening and mix until creamy. Add the eggs, beating after each. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and stir to blend. Add the tomatoes, nuts, dates, and raisins and stir thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool.
Frosting
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package (1 pound) confectioners' sugar
milk, as needed
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla and mix until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a little milk. Frost when the cake is cool.
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The blandness of this cake is remarkably offset by the delicious frosting. Eat the cake sans frosting and you have a two star, maybe three star cake. Since the comparison to carrot cake was made, why not use those spices in this cake? The tomato cake would benefit from the addition of cinnamon, ginger, and/or cloves to the nutmeg.
That is a great suggestion, James. Thanks for sharing!
I thought I'd share this tried & true old recipe with everyone. Maybe some of you have tried it. I've had this recipe over 30 yrs. and no idea who shared it with me. But it is delicious. It's a unique and tasty way to use up some of those extra tomatoes in your gardens and is quite the conversation starter! Enjoy.
Green Tomato Chocolate Cake
3 Large green tomatoes-quartered and pureed
2/3 C. Butter ( at room temperature )
1 3/4 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate-melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 and 1/2 C. All Purpose flour
1/2 C. Cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. beer
Mix first six ingredients together well. In separate bowl sift together dry ingredients.
Add half the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients then add the 1 C. beer. Mix together just until combined. Batter will be thick.
Grease and flour 2 nine-inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 F.
Divide batter between the two pans and bake for about 35 mins. or until toothpick comes out clean.
If desired frost cake with cream cheese frosting:
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 C. sifted powdered sugar
If you want chocolate frosting you can add 1/4 C. ( or more to taste ) cocoa powder to the above ingredients, then mix together well.
Frost your cooled Green Tomato Chocolate Cake and enjoy!
My grandmother's recipe called for more spices (1t of Cinn - 1/2t of ground cloves - 1t of nutmeg). It was so delicious - a heavy cake, stick to your ribs. Mom put a heavy white frosting on it that was good - some sort of butter frosting - too sweet for me. Wonderful memories - we also used the canned tomatoes from our garden in it.
It has to be absolutely delicious...thank you
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