What is "lardy cake"

n. A traditional, richly spiced type of bread originating in southwest England made with rendered lard, flour, sugar, spices, currants and raisins.

Lardy cake, also known as lardy bread, lardy Johns, dough cake and fourses cake is a traditional rich spiced form of bread found in several southern counties of England, each claiming to provide the original recipe. It remains a popular weekend tea cake in some of the southern counties of England, including Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. It is unrecorded in the south east counties of Essex and Kent.