Plum cake without plums? The forgotten history behind the festive favourite

Plum​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ cake is one of the most traditional foods associated with celebrations and the winter season. It is a rich and heavy fruitcake impregnated with dried fruits and nuts and spiced with warming spices, and it has been the go-to cake for Christmas in Europe for hundreds of years. It was extensively popularized in India. Even so, the naming seems to puzzle many people, i.e., why are there no plums in the plum cake? The explanation for a plum cake not having plums is not based on the current recipes but on history, language, and food preservation techniques that significantly influenced early baking traditions.

The historical origin of plum cake

In England of the 17th and 18th centuries, the term plum did not only mean the fresh fruit we know nowadays. It was an inclusive term for dried fruits, especially raisins, currants, and sultanas. These elements were precious imports and were considered a luxury. Therefore, cakes that were heavily laden with such ingredients were termed plum cakes, thus indicating the richness of the cake rather than the type of fruit.

As the English language changed, the word plum started to mean only the stone fruit. So by that time, plum cake was already a dish that had made a cultural association, and the name was kept the same.

What a traditional plum cake is made of

Actually, not a single fresh plum can be found in a traditional plum cake. Normally, the ingredients are raisins, currants, sultanas, sugar-coated citrus peel for flavour, and on top of that, nuts like almonds or cashews. The mixture is then bound by butter, eggs, and flour. The use of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove is meant to give the cake layers of flavour, while the addition of brandy or rum is the preferred method for both flavour and preservation in the old-fashioned versions of the cake.

Firstly, fresh plums are avoided because of their high water content, which not only shortens the shelf life but also changes the texture of plum cake from being dense to more porous.

Why plum cakes are dense and long-lasting

It is worth noting that plum cakes have been thought out to survive frigid winters. Dried fruits, sugar, and alcohol are the main characters in the play, with their roles as natural preservatives, thus allowing a cake to be consumable for weeks or months at a time. Moreover, plum cakes are aged in many cultures, which is a practice to let the flavours fully mature, thus becoming even richer and tastier as time goes on.

How plum cake became popular in India

The British colonists were the ones who brought plum cake to India, and it didn’t take long for the cake to penetrate the local food culture and become one of the most popular festive treats not only in Kerala but all over India. Indian versions may contain caramelized sugar, local spices, cashews, and rum, but they still follow the age-old tradition of using dried fruits, not fresh ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ones.

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