Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about PLUM CAKE!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: there is a wide range of popular plum cakes and puddings . the english variety of plum cake also exists on the European mainland . settlers brought the dried fruit variety of cake with them . other plum-based cakes are found in French, Italian and Polish cooking . plum cake prepared with plums is also a part of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine . dried fruit is used as a sweetening the term “plum” originally referred to prunes, raisins or grapes . in Old English, the term plme was “from medieval Latin pruna, from Latin prunum” which equated to ” prunes are dried plums in the english language since around 1660 . prune cakes raised by whipping air into the cake batter, rather than by the use of yeast . in 1881 Colonel Henry-Herbert said that ” a range of plum cakes and puddings were published in the popular book of household management by Isabella Beeton . recipes included “A Common Plum Cake” and “A Nice Plum Cake”, as well as “Baked the Mirabelle plum is a specific cultivar used to make Tarte aux mirabelles (plum tart) a galette aux fruits is made with yeast dough and covered with previously cooked fruit in season . the “election cake” was prepared with currants, raisins, molasses and spices . in new england large election cakes weighing around 12 pounds (5.4 kg) would traditionally be served while people waited for the first published election cake recipe appeared in 1796 in American Cookery. plum cake recipes in the fruitcake style appeared in early cookbooks in the Southern United States, and did not actually call for plums . pp. 586–587. Wood, J.S. (1895). The Bachelor of Arts: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to University Interests and General Literature. Bachelor of Arts Company. pp. 147–149. Taylor, A.; Taylor, J.; O’Keeffe, A; Bedford, F.D. ; Lucas, E.V. “Original Poems” and Others. May G. Quigley collection. W. Gardner, Darton & Company. pp. 62–65. Walker, H. (1991). Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, 1990: Feasting and Fasting: Proceedings. ISBN 978-0-907325-46-8.