 In 1881 Colonel Henry @-@ Herbert said that " a good English plum cake ... is a national institution " . At times , Thomas Carlyle was one among many who ate a light style of plum cake with tea , into which he would dip the cake , which he described as bun @-@ like with currants " dotted here and there " . Elizabeth David wrote that " Christmas <unk> and Christmas plum pudding and cake are all such typical examples of the English fondness for <unk> fruit mixtures that it seems almost unnecessary to include recipes for them ... " 
