Plum Cake

Plum cake, in the old British sense, has nothing to do with actual plums. ‘Plum’ was the antique word for any dried fruit, and this recipe is a proper Victorian-era celebration fruitcake built on the grand scale: a pound and a half of butter, twelve whole eggs, a pound of flour, three pounds of raisins, a pound and a half of currants, a pound of dates, half a pound of citron peel, and toasted almonds, all bound together with cinnamon, allspice, mace, cloves, and a whole grated nutmeg.

It’s the kind of cake meant to feed a wedding, a christening, or a Christmas household for weeks. The fruit is barely held together by batter, more mosaic than cake. The strawberry jam acts as a binder and keeps the crumb moist through the long bake. Sliced thin, served with a glass of port, these cakes were traditionally aged for weeks (sometimes months) to let the flavors deepen.

Pro Tips

• Toss the dried fruit with a few tablespoons of the measured flour before mixing into the batter. The flour coating keeps the fruit suspended evenly instead of sinking to the bottom.
• Soak the raisins and currants overnight in brandy or rum. This is the traditional move that turns a heavy cake into a deeply boozy, age-worthy one.
• Bake low and slow at 300°F (150°C) and tent with foil after the first hour to prevent over-browning. The recipe’s 45-minute bake is too short for this volume; expect closer to 2 to 3 hours depending on pan size.
• Wrap cooled cake tightly in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and store in a tin for at least a week (preferably a month) to mellow.

Variations

• Replace some currants with chopped candied cherries, pineapple, or angelica for a more Christmas-tree-bright cake.
• Use dark muscovado sugar for a richer, more molasses-tinted crumb.
• Brush the top with a glaze of warmed apricot jam and decorate with whole almonds and candied fruit before serving.