While carrot cakes are synonymous with Easter celebrations and springtime, why should we have to limit ourselves to enjoying this scrumptious cake only when the Easter Bunny is in town? Carrot cakes ...

“It’s an impossible job to make a bunch of carrot cakes and decide which recipe is the best. OK, it’s actually really fun and I enjoy baking, so I had a good time throwing flour around in my kitchen.

This is exactly the kind of experience I had when I tasted Howard Conyers Jr.’s sweet-potato layer cake.

Carrot cake doesn’t usually ask for much. It’s a humble, nostalgic dessert—spiced and sweet, cozy under a thick blanket of cream cheese frosting. It shows up at Easter or maybe at a spring potluck, ...