Old Man Rafferty's Tomato Basil Soup

I was craving this restaurant's tomato basil soup today, but have only five bucks to my name. So I decided to try and make it with the ingredients that I had on hand. The result was very good.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste with basil and garlic
• 12  ounces tomato juice (V-8 Juice works well too)
• 2  cups  vegetable stock
• 5  tablespoons sugar
• 4  tablespoons butter
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2  cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients, except for cream in a large soup pot.
2. Simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat.
3. Allow soup to cool a bit (until it's no longer hot to the touch), then whisk in the cream.
4. Reheat slowly to serving temperature, and serve with chiffonaded fresh basil, if available.