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 Tunnocks 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. In A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down the teacake is referred to as the Biscuit of the Week. 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.

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