In the United Kingdom this confection is known as a chocolate teacake,
though it is entirely unlike the usual English teacake, a sweet roll with dried fruit which is served toasted and buttered.
Teacakes are generally served in the afternoon alongside a traditional British tea.
There are several manufacturers of chocolate teacakes in the UK, though the best known is Tunnock's, a Scottish company founded in 1890.
It was invented by Sir Boyd Tunnock in 1956.
He developed the idea of using Italian meringue.
He made a biscuit base, hand piped the mallow onto the base and covered it in milk chocolate.
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.

Popular throughout the UK, the Tunnock's Teacake enjoys iconic status in Scotland, evoking memories of childhood, or symbolising "home" for Scots around the world.
 The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service gives Tunnock's Teacakes to blood donors in Scotland 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 opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow featured giant dancing Tunnocks Teacakes.
 At Hillington, in Glasgow, the biscuit manufacturer William Macdonald gave the world "Penguin", "Munchmallow", "Yo-Yo" and "Bandit" biscuits in the 1940s and 1950s before becoming part of the large United Biscuits conglomerate.
Tunnock's teacake is more or less the same as the munchmallow which is now produced in Serbia.

The product itself consists of a small round shortbread base covered with a hemisphere of Italian meringue, a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow.
As this soft white fondant is based on egg white rather than gelatine, it is 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 for the more popular milk chocolate variety, and a blue and gold wrapping for the plain chocolate type.
 Several competing brands to Tunnock's,  such as Lees' Foods, also include jam in the centre of the teacake.

In 2013 British café chain Costa Coffee introduced the giant marshmallow teacake, which is around 3 times the size of a standard teacake, with a chocolate biscuit base topped with marshmallow and raspberry jam in the centre.

An 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.
The UK tax authorities had eventually accepted the company's argument that the teacakes were cakes (biscuits are taxed, cakes are not), but refused to repay most of the VAT.
The European court ruled that in principle the tax should be repaid and in a further hearing before the UK Law Lords in 2009, after 13 years of litigation, Marks and Spencer won full repayment of the tax they had paid from 1973 to 1994, amounting to £3.5 million.
This case was fought with Jaffa cakes.
In the United Kingdom this confection is known as a chocolate teacake,
though it is entirely unlike the usual English teacake, a sweet roll with dried fruit which is served toasted and buttered. Teacakes are generally served in the afternoon alongside a traditional British tea. There are several manufacturers of chocolate teacakes in the UK, though the best known is Tunnock's, a Scottish company founded in 1890. It was invented by Sir Boyd Tunnock in 1956. He developed the idea of using Italian meringue. He made a biscuit base, hand piped the mallow onto the base and covered it in milk chocolate. 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.
Popular throughout the UK, the Tunnock's Teacake enjoys iconic status in Scotland, evoking memories of childhood, or symbolising "home" for Scots around the world.  The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service gives Tunnock's Teacakes to blood donors in Scotland 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 opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow featured giant dancing Tunnocks Teacakes.  At Hillington, in Glasgow, the biscuit manufacturer William Macdonald gave the world "Penguin", "Munchmallow", "Yo-Yo" and "Bandit" biscuits in the 1940s and 1950s before becoming part of the large United Biscuits conglomerate. Tunnock's teacake is more or less the same as the munchmallow which is now produced in Serbia.
The product itself consists of a small round shortbread base covered with a hemisphere of Italian meringue, a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow. As this soft white fondant is based on egg white rather than gelatine, it is 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 for the more popular milk chocolate variety, and a blue and gold wrapping for the plain chocolate type.  Several competing brands to Tunnock's,  such as Lees' Foods, also include jam in the centre of the teacake.
In 2013 British café chain Costa Coffee introduced the giant marshmallow teacake, which is around 3 times the size of a standard teacake, with a chocolate biscuit base topped with marshmallow and raspberry jam in the centre.
An 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. The UK tax authorities had eventually accepted the company's argument that the teacakes were cakes (biscuits are taxed, cakes are not), but refused to repay most of the VAT. The European court ruled that in principle the tax should be repaid and in a further hearing before the UK Law Lords in 2009, after 13 years of litigation, Marks and Spencer won full repayment of the tax they had paid from 1973 to 1994, amounting to £3.5 million. This case was fought with Jaffa cakes.
Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats