New cookbooks are a bright spot in spring, and this year's crop is a bumper one. One emerging theme is: Go easy on yourself.

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, ...

Combining chocolate hot cross buns with prunes, plum jam and a chocolate-custard base results in a decadent, self-saucing ...