Mary Beth York from Niles, Mich., was copying some old recipes a friend had collected over the years and stuck in the back of a cookbook from 1942 when she came across one called “Crisco Breath o’ ...

Dense, moist and homey, carrot cake is the quintessential American classic. It evolved from a time when sugar was expensive, so root vegetables like carrots, parsnips and beets sweetened the batter.

Carrot cake, that 1970s favorite, had a newer audience at luxe restaurants like Manhattan's Le Bernardin in 2013, when pastry chef Jodi Elliot served the ultimate version. With only four ingredients — ...