99 Flake facts for kids
A 99 Flake is a super popular ice cream cone! 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" or a "ninety-nine." The name 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 factory in Birmingham, England. It was originally designed to be a square shape that could fit into a wafer. By 1930, Cadbury was already selling special half-length Flake bars called "99s" that were perfect for ice cream cones.
The Ice Cream Treat
A 99 Flake is almost always made with soft serve ice cream. This ice cream is usually vanilla flavoured. You can often buy them from ice cream vans driving around or from ice cream shops.
There are a few fun ways to enjoy a 99 Flake! Some people like a "double 99" or "bunny's ears," which means it has two Flake bars. You can also get one with strawberry or raspberry syrup on top. This is sometimes playfully called "monkey's blood."
How the Flake Bar Was Made
The Flake chocolate bar is made by Cadbury. It was first created in the UK in 1920. An employee at Cadbury noticed something interesting. When extra chocolate was drained from the moulds used for other chocolate bars, it fell in a stream. This created folded chocolate that easily flaked apart. That's how the unique Flake bar was born!
The very first "99 Flake" was a bit different from today's version. It wasn't a Flake bar in a cone. Instead, it was a small chocolate flake placed between two scoops of ice cream. This was then put between two wafer biscuits, like a sandwich.
In 1930, Cadbury started making a smaller Flake bar. This size was perfect for putting into ice cream cones. These special bars were sold in boxes and were called "99 Flake." They weren't wrapped individually like the regular Flake bars.
Why is it Called a 99?
The exact reason for the name "99" is a bit of a mystery! There are a few ideas about where the name came from.
One story says the name started in Portobello, Scotland. A shop owner named Stefano Arcari opened his shop in 1922 at 99 Portobello High Street. He would break a large Flake bar in half and put it in an ice cream. People say the name came from his shop's address. A Cadbury person then supposedly took this idea back to the company. Another similar story comes from the Dunkerley family in Gorton, Manchester. They had a sweet shop at 99 Wellington Street.
Another idea is that Italian ice cream sellers gave it the name. Many of these sellers came from the mountains in Italy. They might have named it to honour young Italian soldiers from World War I. These soldiers were born in 1899 and were called "the Boys of '99." They were highly respected in Italy. The chocolate flake might have reminded the sellers of the feather in the soldiers' hats.
Cadbury's own website says that the real reason for the name "99" has been "lost in the mists of time." However, they also mention an old company paper. This paper suggests the name came from the guard of an Italian king. This guard had 99 men. So, anything really special or top-notch was called "99."
