Why aren't there any plums in plum pudding, and why is it called a pudding rather than a cake?

British terminology calls a whole range of dishes served after a meal as puddings. Most of them are distinctly cake-y.
(Yorkshire pudding is another kettle of fish, but is also a starchy product.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudding

Plum pudding is a steamed pudding (all right, cake) that contains a variety of dried fruits and nuts. It seems to have evolved from an Elizabethan dish called plum pottage, which included preserved veal, mutton or chicken, thickened with bread, reddened with sandalwood and full of currants and prunes (dried plums). Over the years, the meat content disappeared, but the fruits remained. (It is interesting to note that the mince pie underwent a similar transformation from meat with some fruit to totally fruit.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding

Although plumb pudding contains flour and is sweet and rich as any cake, it can not be classified as a cake because it contains no leavening and is not baked, but steamed.

Besides flour, plumb pudding contains suet, sugar, and spices and is studded with raisins and currants. At one time, raisins and currants were refered to as "plums" or "plumbs."

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cake/plumpuddingTips.htm


My British mother use to make plum pudding for Christmas desert. I remember she would pour brandy on it and light it on fire. All us kids would then clap. I was never a big fan of the taste, however.