A CHILDREN'S birthday party "staple" has left food fans seriously divided – with many insisting they've never seen them before.

Top hats are an iconic sweet treat in Scotland and Ireland, and spark nostalgic memories for the masses.

Consisting of a melted chocolate base, a marshmallow, and a dollop of chocolate to secure a single Smartie on top, it's one of the easiest recipes ever.

But it appears not everyone across the UK is familiar with them.

Reminiscing about the simple cake bake, mum Ali Struthers brought them up in a conversation with her husband.

And the university professor was stunned to discover he'd never heard of them.

Posting a picture of top hats on X – formerly known as Twitter – Ali said: "My husband has never seen these before and doesn’t know what they’re called.

"They were an absolute staple of the Scottish children’s party scene in my 1990s childhood.

"Is this another Scottish/English divide of which I’ve been unaware?"

The tweet has since been viewed more than one million times, and sparked a UK-wide debate.

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Many people south of the border didn't know they existed, as one mystified X user admitted: "English Millennial, never seen these before but dying to find a recipe now! What’s on the top, are those peanut M&Ms?"

Another agreed: "I have never seen these or heard of these, but they look delish."

Meanwhile, a third wrote: "I don’t know them but they look amazing. What are they called?"

Others, however, are more than familiar with the sugary snack.

"I grew up in Scotland til I was 9 we always had these", one said.

"Moved to Wales at 9 and never had them in fact I forgot about them til this."

Another stunned person asked: "You mean English people don’t know about top hats? What do they eat at toddlers parties?"

A third said: "[I'm] Scottish and they were a staple at every birthday party as a child. Top hats."

A fourth added: "Top hats! Absolute party staple for me growing up (Scotland, 80s baby) and now I make them with my kids. Just for fun because – why not? They are BRILLIANT."

And even Scottish running champ Eilish McColgan waded into the debate.

She wrote: "Just asked my boyfriend, and he has never seen them either!

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"Scottish kids were brought up on these! EVERY school event. EVERY birthday party."

Speaking about the impact of her viral tweet, Ali said: "Hey, if I brought a little bit of joy, nostalgia and an unexplained run on supermarket marshmallows, then that can only be a good thing."

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