At Deep Sethi’s luxurious Beverly Hills restaurant, which dates to 1984, diners can finish strong with flourless carrot cake served with coconut pineapple ice cream and sprinkled with crushed pistachios.

Naomi Shim’s Historic Filipinotown bakery/cafe always offers pastry case temptations. Her carrot cake fillings are market dependent, but the version I enjoyed featured shredded purple haze carrot, chopped pecans and two tropical touches: coconut and pineapple. Shim spreads liberally with vanilla flecked cream cheese frosting.

Hannah Ziskin resorted to home cooking after the pandemic deprived her of her M. Georgina pastry chef position. The seasonal, nuanced slabs she bakes in Glendale became instant classics. Her carrot cake features spiced Underwood Farms carrot cake, salty pecan caramel, cream cheese mousse, tangy crème fraîche chantilly, and a thin-sliced kumquat garnish.

John Hensley’s Silver Lake bakery features red and canary yellow walls, a lounge with plush chairs, and a standout carrot cupcake. Yes, cupcakes are no longer trendy, but this cake does tout thick cream cheese frosting, a decorative green fondant dot, and cool cake packed with plenty of shredded carrot. Lark also sells bigger carrot cakes with concentric green-in-orange dots.

Christine Moore’s bakery/cafe on Pasadena’s western border always hosts enticing pastries. Little Flower’s carrot cake muffin is stout and touts carrot strands, ginger bite, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seed garnish.

Zoe Nathan can do no wrong in the kitchen, and this carrot cake is completely right, with a gooey core, crispy golden legs that resemble baby octopus tentacles, and tangy cream cheese frosting decorated with toasted walnuts and a cinnamon dusting.