I wouldn’t even have considered making these (tomato soup in a cupcake? Bleh!), but this recipe comes from the baking rockstars behind Baked, and now Baked Explorations. I’m dying to get the new cookbook but am waiting until later in the month when they’re in town for a book signing. So I’m settling for one of the new recipes, published on the Internet. Anyway – Rose Levy Beranbaum, Cake Queen, also has a recipe for tomato soup cake, so that’s enough endorsement for me.

I brought these in to work and didn’t tell anyone what the secret ingredient was. No one guessed. They taste a little like a pumpkin cupcake, and they’re moist and quite good. My only problem was that my buttercream went from creamy to broken very quickly. Tasted fine, but looked a little grainy.

• Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting (Baked Explorations, p. 154)