A Chorley cake is made using currants, sandwiched between two layers of unsweetened shortcrust pastry.
An Eccles cake uses flaky puff pastry, which after baking is normally a deeper brown in colour.
It is not uncommon to see some sugar added to the fruit, or sweeter raisins or sultanas used.
The sad cake was a filler for eating either after one's sandwiches or as a separate tea break snack during the working day in the cotton mills and coal mines of Lancashire.
It may be eaten with sandwiches of jam and crumbly soft Lancashire cheese.