Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats are produced in different variations around the world, with several countries claiming to have invented it or hailing it as their "national confection." The first chocolate-coated marshmallow treat was created about 200 years ago in Denmark.

In the United Kingdom this confection is known as a chocolate teacake, although a teacake in England is usually a sweet bread roll with dried fruit which is served toasted and buttered. The best known manufacturer of the teacake in the UK is Tunnock's, a Scottish company founded in 1890. The Tunnock's teacake is commonly regarded in the same food category as the British biscuit, eaten at break times with a cup of tea as shown in advertising for the product. The argument about whether the teacake is a biscuit or a cake led to an action in the European Court of Justice by British company Marks and Spencer who argued that it had wrongly been classed as a biscuit and taxed by the UK government as such. The European court ruled that the Teacake was not, in fact, a biscuit but a cake and as such Marks and Spencer have begun a legal battle in the UK to retrieve the taxes paid which could amount to as much as 3.5 million UK pounds sterling ($7 million).

The Tunnock's Teacake enjoys iconic status in Scotland, evoking memories of childhood, or symbolizing "home" for Scots around the world. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service gives Blood donors in Scotland Tunnock's Teacakes after giving blood, There is an online appreciation society for the Tunnock's Teacake and Dundee University also has an appreciation society for the Tunnocks Teacake. A giant fully-edible replica of a Tunnocks Teacake was made by Michelle Kershaw and Nick Dodds at Pimp That Snack.

The product itself consists of a small round shortbread base covered with a hemisphere of a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow. As the soft white fondant is based on egg-white rather than gelatine it is therefore much more delicate than marshmallow. This is then coated in a thin layer of milk or plain chocolate and, in the case of Tunnock's, wrapped in a distinctive red and silver foil paper for the more popular milk chocolate variety, and a blue and gold wrapping for the plain chocolate type.