Name: Tomato Bundt Cake
Ingredients: 2-1/3 cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste; 2-3 large tomatoes (need about 2-1/2 cups of pureed tomato); 1/2 cup brown sugar (can add 1/4 cup more if you like a bit sweeter cake); 1/2 cup a neutral flavored oil (canola is good); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Tomato Bundt Cake

Oven350°F

Time45–50 minutes

Ingredients

2-1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
2-3 large tomatoes (need about 2-1/2 cups of pureed tomato)
1/2 cup brown sugar (can add 1/4 cup more if you like a bit sweeter cake)
1/2 cup a neutral flavored oil (canola is good)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

Prepare the batter

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk all dry ingredients into a bowl.
Remove the core from tomatoes, chop into chunks, and place in a blender. Blend tomatoes until smooth and frothy.
Add sugar, oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar to the blender and blend until incorporated.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until combined.

Bake and serve

Pour batter into a greased (and floured) bundt pan.
Bake for 45–50 minutes until dark reddish‑golden brown and a fork test comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool for a minute or two. Invert the cake, tap the pan to release it.
Let the cake cool completely, slice, and serve.
Optional: dust the top with powdered sugar if desired, or apply a lemon glaze (lemon zest, lemon juice, and powdered sugar).

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

790Calories

14 gProtein

29 gFat

114 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Canola	1 tbsp (14g)	124
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Cake	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,241 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Sugar + apple cider vinegartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together455 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All purpose flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
Tomatoes: Supply moisture and body to the batter, giving the cake a tender, moist crumb.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic vinegar and tomatoes to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Baking powder: Adds additional leavening so the cake rises steadily in the oven.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, and contributes to browning of the crust.
Neutral oil: Keeps the crumb moist and tender by supplying fat.

The step that matters

Blending the tomatoes until smooth and frothy. Thoroughly pureed tomato gives an even texture and consistent moisture throughout the cake. Lumps can leave dense or wet pockets after baking.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, sugar, vanilla, apple cider vinegar):

Arrowrootfits better
Capsicumfits better
Beetrootfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, sugar, vanilla, apple cider vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Apple Pudding256 recipes

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

Apple Cake80 recipes

Apple Meringue75 recipes

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Tomato Bundt Cake