- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- A variety of flavorful ripe tomatoes—cherry tomatoes, heirlooms
- 1½ cup flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ cups tomato jam
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter and line a nine-inch circular cake pan with parchment paper.
- Melt four tablespoons butter and the brown sugar in a small saucepan and pour into the cake pan.
- Slice the tomatoes into half-inch slices, arrange on the bottom of the pan in the brown sugar/butter mixture. Fill the pan as tightly as possible with large and small tomatoes. Use cherry tomatoes to fill in small spaces.
- Sift the flour and baking powder to fully mix, set aside.
- Whip three-quarters cup butter with the white sugar in an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy—five to ten minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to medium, and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after adding each one.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix until barely incorporated. Finish mixing the batter gently by hand.
- The batter will be thick. Spoon it into the pan, gently and evenly covering the tomatoes without disturbing their placement.
- Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean—fifty to sixty minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool partially—five minutes. Invert onto an ample cake plate while still warm.
- Spoon a thick layer of tomato jam over the warm cake and serve with additional jam.