They're spot on about the raisins, btw. That's the easy way for me to spot which carrot cakes at restaurants to skip.
You’re Doing It Wrong: Carrot Cake
Wise journalists, students, and trivia contestants know not to trust Wikipedia unthinkingly. There is no better support for rule of thumb than the open-source encyclopedia’s entry for carrot cake, which currently begins: Carrot cake is a cake or pie which contains carrots mixed into the batter. The carrot softens in…
Coincidentally, my wife just made carrot cake (it’s a birthday tradition for our son). She puts a teaspoon of frozen orange juice concentrate in the cream cheese frosting for a great tang.
@Solonor – Hmmm. That is an interesting idea.