Spice Muffins

I was looking at some ancient recipes and discovered that you can cook with condensed tomato soup. Yeah, like Campbell’s soup that comes in a red and white can. Who knew? I immediately got in the kitchen and created my own vegan recipe with tomato soup, the Spice Muffin. I think the tomato soup brings out some deep rich flavors in the muffins. The cardamom gives it a very aromatic taste so liking spices is a must…think gingerbread cookies. Whenever you are making this recipe, it may look a little unappetizing when you add the can of soup but trust me it’s delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups any kind of flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 can condensed tomato soup, about 10-11 oz (I know this sounds weird)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• egg replacement for two eggs- see note
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/4 cup water

Optional: Nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first eight ingredients.
Then add soup, shortening, eggs and water.  Beat for about four minutes on high (if using an electric mixer.)
Stir in nuts if using until just mixed.

Put batter into lined or greased muffin cups, bake for 30 minutes.

Note: Combine 3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer with 4 tablespoons of orange juice. Whisk until frothy.

I used whole wheat pastry flour for my muffins, but feel free to experiment. I chose Campbell’s tomato soup, but after reading the ingredient list I would probably not choose this brand again. The Campbell’s brand has a lot of salt and also has high fructose corn syrup. It’s not essential that you have orange juice to combine with the vegan Ener-G egg replacer as you may substitute water. However, I thought that it provided a nice balance with the tomato soup.