Cookbook author and cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai extends her passion for miso to this cake recipe. She explains, "When I moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo, my mother took us to a diner where she ordered us carrot cake for the first time. She was always encouraging us to try things, but a vegetable cake? I was skeptical at first, but when I took the first bite, I fell in love. Soon, I began making my own. I'd never baked with any of these ingredients before, so I felt a little more American every time. Later in my life, the Japanese in me wondered about adding miso to the frosting—after all, mochi sweets are often flavored with miso. I found it offsets the sweetness and gives it a punch of umami. I like to use both white and red miso. Since the flavor of miso varies, start small, taste and adjust to suit your palate."