 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 mincemeat and Christmas plum pudding and cake are all such typical examples of the English fondness for spiced fruit mixtures that it seems almost unnecessary to include recipes for them ... " 
