Carvel's Iconic Fudgie The Whale Got A New Makeover For Its Grocery Chain Debut

Carvel is known for its colorful ice cream cakes, which are available in its storefronts and in the frozen section of many grocery stores. One popular version, Fudgie the Whale, features layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream separated by crunchy chocolate bits and covered with fudge, more crunchy bits, and whipped topping. It is, of course, designed in the shape of a whale — and for the first time ever, you can now get a version of that cake at Publix stores.

However, this one has a special design that's only available at the Publix grocery chain. It's also a limited-time buy, but you should be able to get your hands on it for major steak-filled get-togethers like Father's Day. These things aren't small, either; the 46-ounce cake should serve anywhere between six to 10 people (though you should be prepared for some people to steal seconds). The new look features a round chocolate ice cream cake with a hand-frosted whale design on top; it gives off homemade vibes, though that iconic whale is a dead giveaway that you might not have put this one together yourself. But in buying the Fudgie the Whale cake from Publix, you also spare yourself the effort of spreading softened ice cream into a springform pan.

As Carvel devotees know, Fudgie has been around for a long time. Since 1977, to be precise. It was originally created for Father's Day, but it wasn't always a whale. Rather, the first Fudgie was a smaller-scaled affair. Prototypes were shaped like a goldfish, but founder Tom Carvel (who was born in Greece as Athanasios Karvelas) requested a more dramatic whale. The name was born while the team was spitballing ideas for ice cream cakes covered in fudge.

After Fudgie the Whale hit stores, it became a hot seller, one of those blue moon-type novelties that just flew out the door, much in the same manner as Cookie Puss, the alien-shaped cake that debuted at Carvel at around the same time. The rest is a part of ice cream history, of which you can partake by buying Carvel cakes at both the ice cream purveyor's storefronts and grocery stores for parties. In the case of Fudgie, you'll be able to casually drop into Publix — which many shoppers consider one of the best grocery stores — and get a limited-time version for yourself to cool your guests off during the summer.