Should carrot cake have raisins in?

[Reallybadidea]

Planning to make a carrot cake to take to work tomorrow. I know some people hate raisins but the recipe I generally use has them as an ingredient. I will abide by the MN jury.

YABU = dried fruit is an abomination, leave them out.
YANBU = raisins are a welcome addition to a moist carrot cake.

@Reallybadidea I’m so ANGRY with you, you will never know how sad I am right now that I don’t have any carrot cake 😭

@ButDoYouAvacado this is the recipe, but I top it with cream cheese icing.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/yummy-scrummy-carrot-cake-recipe

Raisin-free seems to be winning. Perhaps I should have said in my OP that there is a vocal no-raisin proponent in my department, who I don't particularly like (for non-raisin-related reasons) and I was concerned that this was affecting my ability to be impartial

I also add crushed pineapple and mixed peel, but I realise that's hardcore.

allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/18516/simple-carrot-cake.aspx

I do this recipe and I always add a good handful of 2 of sultanas. Sometimes I soak them in honey liqueur

It's subjective isn't it? If you like them...put them in! If you don't...then you're going to say no 🤷‍♀️ I personally don't mind raisins but I've never seen them in carrot cake (it wouldn't bother me though!). I've had it with sultanas (which I prefer to raisins...plumper/juicier)...but mostly, I've had carrot cake as 'just' carrot cake 🤷‍♀️.

I expect most people would bite into it 'expecting' just carrot cake, so to play it safe in your situation OP, I'd go for that option.

If you decide on your recipe though, maybe warn people first, or put a little card/label next to the plate saying 'contains raisins' as they are notoriously 'marmite' food things aren't they? People either love or hate them!

No. I like both but not together

The recipe I use has sultanas soaked in orange juice. It always gets compliments.

No way!!

I hate them. Let people know if you do include them as I would hate to bite into carrot cake and find any form of dried fruit

No. Raisins only have a place on Christmas pudding and that is all. Nasty little things.

Raisins in carrot cake is fine. Nuts in carrot cake is an abomination though.

No - nuts in everything. I love nuts. I’m not too keen on the little marzipan or icing carrots that often decorate a carrot cake. It just looks weird to me.

What would Mary Berry do? 🤔

No @Lordfrontpaw no nuts and definitely a decorative carrot to tell you it’s carrot cake

Ooh I like a decorative marzipan carrot!

Either raisins or no raisins is fine in a carrot cake

Looks like the MN jury is split!
Any chance you could make two?

I rather like a nice hit of carrot cake (raisins locked off and itty bitty carrots removed - but they tend to be ultra sweet icing or marzipan and I can’t tolerate them anyway).

And walnuts - sorry if this is triggering to anyone - but I LIKE NUTS. 🥜 (I know it’s a peanut but I don’t have a walnut piccy)

@ KnightandDay heh heh heh (that was me!)

I also add crushed pineapple and mixed peel,

Now that sounds wonderful.

Nuts as well will work beautifully, I imagine.

Yes, like the sound of both of those.

It's just raisins and sultanas that sound weird. Raisins because they can often dry out a bit when cooked and sultanas well, because they're sultanas - horrible squidgy things.

I vaguely believe that if it has sultanas (or possibly raisins, and maybe walnuts) then it is called passion cake? But I haven't seen it labelled as such for years. My favourite recipe has bananas in!

Sultanas - acceptable.

Raisins, never ever ever.

Sultanas in it would make it a Passion Cake

Urgh no.

I make carrot cake with loads of ground cloves ( needs to be whole cloves freshly ground) and a good splash of sea-salt.

Walnuts -yes

No cream cheese frosting though.
I had a carrot cake in a cafe once that had orange rind in it, that was delicious but I've not been brave enough to try this myself .

I have never heard of such an abomination.