Great Canadian Ketchup Cake

contributed by Heinz™ Ketchup

 

Do you remember what you were doing on this day in 1971?  Maybe enjoying guests Bernadette Peters and George Hamilton on The Ed Sullivan Show, or Burl Ives and Anne Murray on the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour. Maybe mourning Davey Jones' recent departure from The Monkees. Or reveling in America's domination of the space race, as evidenced by the recent moon landing of Apollo 14.

Of course, if you were Dr. Husband, you were busy being born, little knowing that you would grow up to be weekly served dishes that intentionally include ingredients that nature abhors.

For Dr. Husband's birthday, we have a cake of sorts - and, actually, Dr. Husband had to make it himself. I'm a whiz at Jell-O, but he's the baker in the family.  And also part Canadian. So, here you go - Canadian Ketchup Cake!

"Ketchup in a cake?" you ask in astonishment.  Created to celebrate Heinz's 100th Anniversary in Canada, "this show-stopping cake tastes as good as it looks. If you are a fan of carrot cake, you'll want to try this recipe."

Another missive from Heinz claims that this cake is akin to traditional Red Velvet Cake, a statement I must vehemently disagree with. My grandmother, Mrs. White, was a master of the Waldorf Astoria Red Cake, a recipe which she secured DIRECTLY FROM THE WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL (she said) AT GREAT COST AND PERSONAL RISK TO HERSELF (she said) AND SHE WAS PRACTICALLY THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD THAT HAD IT (she said).  Of course that was before the internet. At any rate, the ketchup cake is rather similar to carrot cake in taste and texture, but nothing at all like authentic red cake, which is moist and earthy and as dense as white dwarf star matter.

The recipe is as follows:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup Heinz® Tomato Ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. red food coloring
3/4 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
--- Frosting Ingredients ---
6 oz. brick-style cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner's sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Stir the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and ginger into a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine Ketchup, water, and red coloring. Set aside.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and then blend in the sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour and Ketchup mixtures and beat on low, scraping down the bowl as needed, until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center springs back when touched lightly. Cool the cakes for 15 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely.

Frosting Preparation
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla for 2 minutes or until smooth. On low, gradually beat in the sugar, scraping the bowl as needed. Beat on high until fluffy.

Frost between the cake layers and over the sides and top of the cake.

You'll deduce, of course, that Dr. Husband made cupcakes instead of a traditional layer cake, and I'm comfortable disclosing that he also used canned cream cheese frosting. But never mind that, I know you all only come here for the videos anyway:

Our Rating: It's cake. You know you're going to eat it anyway.

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)