Chocolate Spice Tomato Soup Cupcakes

Although it sounds like it uses a strange combination of ingredients, my Tomato Soup Cake is a big hit every time that I make it. The moist, spicy cake is an old recipe and is very flavorful. You would never guess that it calls for condensed tomato soup in the recipe – most people just ask for seconds! I usually make the recipe as a simple spice cake, but thought that I would try a chocolate version a try for a little variety.

These Chocolate Spice Tomato Soup Cupcakes are reminscent of carrot cake, with a moist, spicy texture and a hint of warmth from the condensed tomato soup in the batter. I actually prefer to use tomato juice (or V8 juice) in these cakes because I am a lot more likely to have it in my kitchen than a can of condensed tomato soup. The chocolate flavor comes both from unsweetened cocoa powder and from mini chocolate chips. It may not seem like a lot of chocolate, but you do get a good chocolate flavor in the finished cakes and it balances well with the cinnamon and clovers in the batter.

I generally use cream cheese frosting on spice cakes and that is a good choice for these, as well. That said, it never hurts to have a little more chocolate on a chocolate cupcake, so I opted for a chocolate sour cream frosting, instead. The frosting comes together very quickly in the microwave and has a smooth, slightly fudgy texture to it. Make sure to add in the confectioners’ sugar gradually and beat it in well to ensure a glossy frosting that is not too thick to spread easily.

Chocolate Tomato Soup Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup tomato juice/V8 juice/condensed tomato soup
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Ling 16 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in spices, cocoa powder, egg, vanilla extract and almond extract until well blended. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the tomato juice, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Mix only until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate).
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 16.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
6-oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 – 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Melt together chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, or until close to room temperature, then stir in the sour cream, salt and vanilla extract. When smooth, blend in (with an electric mixer) about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar. Gradually add in remaining confectioners’ sugar until a smooth, spreadable consistency is reached.