I recently discovered a new way to add some pizzazz to my spice cake recipe. It’s amazing how just one cup of tomato juice can make a world of difference. And to take it up a notch, I added some miniature chocolate chips. The end result was a delectable cream cheese-frosted sheet cake that had everyone asking for the recipe. Give it a try and see for yourself how this simple addition can elevate a classic dessert.
I thought I’d round out the workweek with something sweet, especially after boring you with so many tomato juice recipes throughout the week. Speaking of work, is it wrong to take a cake to your place of business with two pieces missing from it? If it is, then I did a very, very, very bad thing, and I’m proud to admit it. This cake was amazing. B.O.B. Bob and I ate a piece for lunch over the weekend to make sure that it was edible. After all, we wouldn’t want to kill anyone with a cake made out of our garden-fresh tomatoes.
All that worry I had over co-workers being put off by the title of the cake turned out to be unnecessary as well. The cake was demolished in no time at all, and several people were upset to hear that they had missed out on it. The ones lucky enough to have scrounged up a piece had nothing but rave reviews, and have asked for a re-do in the near future. Guess I’ll be making another round of juice when the tomatoes pick back up to speed again. I promise that I won’t post any recipes from the next batch of juice though, because quite frankly I’m a little tired of things made out of tomato juice by this point, so except for the one cup that is required to make this cake, the rest is going straight into the freezer.
P.S. There’s only one more day of “Tomato Juice Hell” as I like to call it, but it involves alcohol, so I’m thinking that’s not such a bad thing.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
- 1/3 Cup Miniature Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Natural Applesauce
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Tomato Juice
Frosting:
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Directions:
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 metal cake pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and chocolate chips; set aside.
- On medium speed, in a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla together for 3 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time, and mix until combined.
- On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the tomato juice, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to completely cool before applying the frosting.
Frosting:
- Place the cream cheese and butter into a large mixing bowl, and mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 30 seconds.
- On low speed, slowly mix in the powdered sugar, mixing until well combined.
Suggestions:
- Mixing the chocolate chips into the flour will help stop them from sinking to the bottom of your cake.
- Tap the cake pan filled with batter on the countertop a few times to get any air bubbles out.
- This cake is on the thin side; you could always make two cakes and two batches of frosting to make a thicker version. Double the pleasure.
Improvements:
- Add pecans or walnuts if you are lucky enough to not have someone with nut allergies living in your house.
- Add golden raisins to the batter if you are one of those people who aren’t creeped out by their resemblance to boogers.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
- 1/3 Cup Miniature Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Natural Applesauce
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Tomato Juice
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9x13 metal cake pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and chocolate chips; set aside.
- On medium speed, in a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla together for 3 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time, and mix until combined.
- On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the tomato juice, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to completely cool before applying the frosting.
- Place the cream cheese and butter into a large mixing bowl, and mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 30 seconds.
- On low speed, slowly mix in the powdered sugar, mixing until well combined.
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