The Old-School Mystery Dessert That Was All The Rage In The 1930s

Most people would react to a food described as a "mystery" dish with either excitement or apprehension, as you never quite know what you're going to get. Take the ever-changing mystery-flavored Dum-Dums, for example, or meats such as bologna, which are often known as mystery meats. In the 1930's, a decade in which home cooks had to get creative using the ingredients they could afford, a mystery cake recipe piqued people's interest. Why? Because it was made with a can of condensed tomato soup.

While this recipe was often just referred to as "mystery cake," others called it "magic cake" or (for those who weren't afraid their guests would run screaming out the door) just tomato soup cake. The earliest recipes used soup as a substitute for eggs and milk, which had become scarce and expensive in the '30s. Not only did the soup impart moistness, but the acidity of the tomatoes reacted with the baking soda to give the cake a light and fluffy texture. But how did it taste? Fortunately, nothing like tomato soup. If anything, the spices included are what you can detect in the cake — they include cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. 

America's fascination with tomato soup cake was really just getting started in the 1930s. By the time the '40s came along, the nation was in the midst of World War II, which meant an extended period of rationing for millions. Tomato soup cake remained a sweet staple for this reason. Even after the war years and into the 1950s, however, it kept appearing on dessert spreads. While you might think that people would have wanted to embrace more extravagant recipes again — with rationing lifted and the country healing — Americans held tight to this one; instead of setting the cake aside, they improved and enriched it by adding eggs and frostings to the recipe. In 1951, the Campbell's Soup Company even created a chocolate version of the cake, which it called "black magic cake."

Today, you can find all kinds of recipes that require the use of condensed tomato soup, including tomato soup spice cupcakes, ginger spice cheesecake, and sweet potato pie. For some, tomato soup mystery cake may be an old-school dish made from weird leftover ingredients, but a quick look on social media will throw up plenty of influencers and personalities who are impressed by the ingenuity of the recipe — and the delicious results.