The cake was popular in the 1700s, and through the Victorian era. Recipes for it are included in many early cookbooks, including Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy (1747) (note that there are recipes for "cheap seed-cake" and "a rich  seed-cake, called the nun's cake"),  Elizabeth Moxon's English Housewifery Exemplified (1764), Amelia Simmons' American Cookery (1796), Mary Eaton's The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary (1822), and Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861).
The cake was well-liked in the 1700s, and throughout the Victorian period. Recipes for it are featured in numerous early cookbooks, including Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy (1747), Elizabeth Moxon's English Housewifery Exemplified (1764), Amelia Simmons' American Cookery (1796), Mary Eaton's The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary (1822), and Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861).