14 Carat Cake, with Vanilla Cream-Cheese Frosting

  • By Sue Ade
  • Tuesday, April 5, 2016 6:14pm
  • LifeFood

In the 1960’s, small squares of carrot cake, served in little round dishes, was a standard dessert option in cafeterias across the country. Along with quiche, fondue and crêpes, the popular cream cheese-frosted sweet would go on to earn a place among the list of top food fads of the 1970’s. But, unlike most fads that come and go (and sometimes come back again), our affection for carrot cake has never declined.

My all-time favorite recipe for carrot cake comes from “Stirring Performances,” a community cookbook by the Junior League of Winston-Salem, Inc. My copy, a first printing edition copyrighted in 1988, also includes some of the best recipes from the now out-of-print “Heritage of Hospitality,” a 1975 publication of the Junior League of Winston-Salem, as well. Charles Kuralt, the 40-year CBS News veteran and long-time host of the “On the Road” segments of “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite,” also favored this cake. The Wilmington, North Carolina-born journalist, correspondent and primetime host, who died in 1997, wrote: “This is a book about real food. The fabulous moist 14 Carat Cake recipe alone is worth double the price!”

When I contacted the Junior League of Winston-Salem for permission to reprint the recipe for the cake, I was delighted to learn there is a limited edition release of the cookbook available. Filled with “menus for entertaining, quick and easy recipes for today’s living and recipes from favorite restaurants,” the book sells for $18.74. For further information call 336-722-9681, or visit the organization’s website at www.jlws.org.

More in Life

Creamy pasta is served with smoked salmon and Parmesan. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A dish for the mourning

Smoked salmon fettuccine served in a time of grief.

Artwork by Anastasia Clyde is seen as part of the inaugural exhibition of “Spirit of Soldotna: Showcasing Student Art” in Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna opens student art showcase in city hall

The ongoing exhibition is a collaboration between Soldotna and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and Kenai Peninsula College.

tease
Off the shelf: Paradise versus privilege

“The Garden Against Time” is part of the Homer Public Library’s 2025 Lit Lineup.

Poopdeck Street, in Homer, became a reality in 1996, honoring Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt. (Clark Fair photo)
Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 1

Clarence Hiram Platt — who preferred to have people call him Poopdeck — may have been slowing down, but he rarely stopped moving.

File
Minister’s Message: Is it worth the risk?

What good is momentary fame, wealth, or admiration if it ultimately costs us what matters most — our soul?

The Ridgeway Rounders perform during Frozen RiverFest on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2023, at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
10th Frozen RiverFest set for Saturday

The event will feature 19 breweries.

The Middle School Battle of the Books Team from Homer Connections, who won the district competition in February, stand for a photo. (Provided by Districtwide Librarian Julie Gottfried)
District Battle of the Books teams ready for state competition

Battle of the Books is an annual celebration of reading and teamwork.

File
Minister’s Message: Living in the community of faith

Many of us tend to stay within our own denomination for purposes of what we consider to be purity of doctrine.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Artwork by Susan Nabholz, Charlotte Coots and Chelline Larsen is displayed as part of “Fiber” at the Kenai Art Center on Wednesday.
Focus on fiber

Kenai Art Center show transforms threads to art

Most Read