Sylvia Plath's Tomato Soup Cake

I have a copy of Sylvia Plath's Tomato Soup Cake, a compendium of classic authors' favourite recipes (Faber).

It's full of gems. Who could resist Vladimir Nabokov's 'Eggs a la Nabocoque'? Or Doris Lessing's 'Chicken with Orange and Lemon'?

I have made Sylvia's cake. I don't think I'd make it twice. It's an American recipe, so it's in 'cups'.

I would assume 'shortening' would be butter and the tomato soup would be Campbells.

• ½ cup of shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup tomato soup (undiluted)
• 1 tsp soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ nutmeg
• ½ allspice
• 1 cup raisins

Cream shortening, add sugar, then well beaten egg. Sift all the dry ingredients and add these gradually to the mixture. Flour the raisins lightly and beat into the mixture. Bake about 45 minute into a well-greased and floured tin.

Sylvia's mother, Aurelia Schober Plath, writes, "You used to like an orange icing on this – 2 tbsp butter creamed, icing sugar and orange juice. To make it special I used to place walnut halves on the icing so that when cut into squares each square would have a nut."

Chas Nicholson
Eating with Chas

Thursday, 4 June 2026

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