This is my autumnal version of my dreamy hummingbird cake. For this variation, I replaced bananas and coconut with pumpkin, pineapple with raisin, and pecans with pepitas. Initially when I was testing this recipe, I tried to just use my carrot cake recipe, but subbing out the grated carrot with canned pumpkin puree. But that ended up with a very dense, damp cake. Turns out, fresh carrots still have less moisture than pumpkin puree. Who would’ve thunk? I actually had to tweak and redo this recipe a couple of times, because while the cake tasted alright, it was just so wet and almost soggy. So I found that using less of the puree, and more leavening, resulted in a cake that was lighter – I wasn’t aiming for something as dense and moist(a word I am hilariously not as grossed out by as others) as my usual carrot cake, so it made sense that I could not just use my carrot cake recipe for this. After moving away from that approach, and adjusting the recipe entirely to have a little less pumpkin puree and a bit more leavening, it worked out a lot better after getting those tweaks in. The end result cake was light and airy, which was more of what I was aiming for, but still discernibly pumpkin flavored, with the autumnal spices to really give it that fall feeling!

For my garnishes for the cake, I went with a miso-cream cheese whip, just to add that umami and salt, a caramelized raisin puree, pumpkin tuiles, pepitas(pumpkin seeds just to keep things on the nose), and golden raisins. To sort of encapsulate that Halloween-y, autumnal vibe, I dub this cake a “scarecrow cake”, as a play on words to a more tropical, summery hummingbird cake. That and you often find scarecrows in the fields at farms, such as pumpkin patches, so it just felt like the right name for a cake like this one! Flavor wise, this recipe is very similar to that hummingbird cake, but more spiced, giving it a warming feeling through notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and clove, a different kind of comfort. I will warn you now, if you hate pumpkin spice, you’ll hate this cake. I guess that makes you the “crow” in this whole scarecrow analogy. But if you love pumpkin spice, this recipe will be totally up your alley!

Makes two 6-inch cakes, or 12 portions:
For the cake:
12oz pumpkin puree
1 stick unsalted butter, browned
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted pepitas

In a bowl, whip the pumpkin puree with butter, spices, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Then fold into that the baking powder, soda, flour, raisins, and pepitas to form your batter. Pour the batter into two foil-lined 6-inch rounds and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Allow the cakes to fully cool before unmolding.

For the caramelized raisin puree:
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a pot, heat up the raisins, sugar, and salt until the sugar turns an amber-brown color. Add to that the heavy cream and simmer everything on medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved and the liquid is reduced by half. Transfer to a blender, and carefully puree everything until smooth(make sure to cover the top of the blender with two towels and hold the lid down so that pureeing the hot liquid does not result in an explosion). Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps.

For the pumpkin tuiles:
4oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup flour
1oz vegetable oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix everything together to form your tuile batter. Allow the batter to rest at least 20 minutes before spreading into tuile molds. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.

For the miso-cream cheese whip:
8oz cream cheese
.5oz white miso
3 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, whip everything together until creamy and spreadable.

For garnish:
Golden raisins
Toasted pepitas

Spread the cream cheese whip on top of the cake, and then swirl into that the caramel-raisin puree. Garnish the top with more golden raisins, toasted pepitas, and the tuiles to finish.