99 Flake facts for kids
A 99 Flake is a super popular ice cream treat! It's usually a soft vanilla ice cream cone with a yummy Cadbury Flake chocolate bar stuck right into it. Sometimes people just call it a "99." The term can also mean the special half-sized Flake bar that Cadbury makes just for these ice creams.
The Flake bar was first created at the Cadbury's factory in Birmingham, England. It was originally designed to fit into a wafer. By 1930, Cadbury's was already selling special half-length Flake bars just for "99s" ice cream cones.
What is a 99 Flake Ice Cream?
A 99 Flake is an ice cream cone, usually made with soft vanilla ice cream. A Flake bar is then inserted into the ice cream. You can often buy them from ice cream vans or at ice cream parlours.
There are some fun variations too!
- A "double 99" or "bunny's ears" has two Flake bars.
- Some 99s have strawberry or raspberry syrup on top. This is sometimes called "monkey's blood."
The Cadbury Flake Bar
The Flake chocolate bar was first made by Cadbury in the UK in 1920. An employee noticed something cool. When extra chocolate was drained from moulds, it cooled into thin, rippled streams. These streams had a unique crumbly texture. That's how the Flake was born!
Early "99 Flakes" were a bit different. They were like an ice cream sandwich. A Flake bar was placed between two servings of ice cream, then put between two wafer biscuits.
In 1930, Cadbury started making a smaller Flake bar just for ice cream cones. These were called 99 Flakes. They were sold loose in boxes, not wrapped individually like regular Flakes.
Why is it Called "99"?
The exact reason for the name "99" is a bit of a mystery! Cadbury says the reason has been "lost in the mists of time." However, there are a few interesting ideas:
- One story says the name came from a shop in Portobello, Scotland. A shop owner named Stefano Arcari opened his shop at 99 Portobello High Street in 1922. He would break a large Flake in half and put it in an ice cream. The name might have come from his shop's address.
- Another idea is that Italian ice cream sellers named it. Many of these sellers were from mountainous areas in Italy. They might have named it in honor of the "Ragazzi del 99" (The Boys of '99). These were young Italian soldiers born in 1899 who fought in World War I. They were highly respected. The chocolate flake might have reminded the sellers of the feather in the soldiers' hats.
- An old Cadbury paper suggests the name came from the guard of an Italian king. This guard had 99 men. So, anything "really special or first class" was known as "99."
Learn More
- BBC News story about origin of the name
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