Spiced Tomato Upside-down Cake

Instructions

Butter a 9" cake pan.  For the topping melt the butter, brown sugar and ginger in the bottom of the cake pan.  Cover with a single layer of the tomato sliced.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  For the cake, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and mace together.  Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl.  Add the molasses to the creamed mixture, and the egg yolks, adding one yolk at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix well.  Add the milk to the above batter alternately with the dry ingredients, folding well after each addition.  Beat the egg whites until stiff.  Fold the whites into the cake batter.  Spread the batter over the tomatoes and bake until a skewer goes into the center and comes out clean, approximately 45 to 50 minutes.

After the cake has cooled for at least 15 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it.  Turn the cake over onto a serving platter and let it sit another 5 minutes.  Remove the pan.  Whip the cream and flavor with confectioner's sugar and remaining few drops vanilla.

To serve, cut the cake into wedges and serve the cream on the side.