Fudgie the Whale is a type of ice cream cake produced and sold by American ice-cream maker Carvel in its franchise stores. It was developed by Carvel in the 1970s as an expansion of its line of freshly made products, along with Hug Me the Bear and Cookie Puss.[1]
Development
Although the cake depicts the shape of a whale and was originally decorated as such, it was sometimes adapted for holiday uses by rotating it 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that the whale's body, now upright, could represent a face. The whale's tail would then represent whatever a character traditionally had on its head: the Easter Bunny's ears, or Santa Claus' tassel.[2] But Fudgie the Whale was usually promoted around Father's Day, using the slogan, "For a whale of a dad".[3]
Fudgie was developed by founder Tom Carvel, with the assistance of his employee Kathy Dumas.[4]
Partnerships / Co-branding
In 2018, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company partnered with Carvel to produce, in limited release, "Fudgie the Beer", a stout flavored with the chocolate crunchies also used to make Fudgie the Whale. The beer was re-released in limited quantities in 2019 to coincide with Father's Day,[5] and was again re-released in June 2021 for the same reason.[6]
In the animated FX series Archer, title character Sterling Archer praises the Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale cakes in several episodes, saying "Those guys at Carvel know what they’re doing".
In season 4, episode 11 of The Office, Andy Bernard states that his favorite type of cake is ice cream cake, and that he would like a "Fudgie the Whale" cake.
In season 8, episode 6 of The Simpsons ("A Milhouse Divided"), Homer buys Marge a Fudgie the Whale wedding cake with "To a Whale of a Wife" written in icing, much to her dismay and disappointment.
In season 7, episode 5 of The Venture Bros. ("[The Inamorata Consequence"), during the dinner precession of the Treaty of Tolerance Summit II, a Fudgie the Whale cake is present with the words "Have a Whale of a Summit" written in frosting. The Carvel brand would go on to host a promotional giveaway with cakes designed with characters and iconography from the show in 2018.
In season 11, episode 2 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Cry Wilderness), during the invention exchange, Kinga Forrester and Max unveiled the Fudgie the Whale cake clock which included a money bag cake. In response to the episode, Carvel posted on Twitter a picture of a money bag cake.
On The Dan Le Batard Show, Old Money Charlie ate an entire Fudgie the Whale cake as a 'Grid of Death' punishment. The size of the cake was called into question by the shipping container, and referred to as "Fudgie the Dolphin".
In season 2, episode 14 of Speechless, JJ DiMeo demands a "Fudgie the Whale" cake for his 18th birthday.
In season 3, episode 5 of Showtime's hour long drama entitled Billions, a character insinuates it's someone birthday and that a Fudgie the Whale cake will be served.
In season 2, episode 3 of HBO's show Looking, which takes place in San Francisco, a coworker receives a Fudgie the Whale cake during a birthday celebration and exclaims, "What'd you guys do, ship this from Long Island?"
In season 1, episode 18 "And the One Night Stands" of the show 2 Broke Girls, Max Black (Kat Dennings) reminisces about eating "Fudgie the Whale" on her birthday which she spent alone while her crackheaded mother passed out and forgot to invite people for her birthday party. At the end of the episode, she insists on everyone in the prison-bus getting themselves the ice-cream cake.
In season 3, Episode 19 "Everything Must Go" of the show How I Met Your Mother. Abby talks about the Fudgie the Whale cake.
In the Homestar Runner Halloween cartoon "The House that Gave Sucky Tricks", The Cheat dresses up as Fudgie the Whale.
In the 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow, Fudgie the Whale is featured at a child's birthday party while they sing "Happy Birthday".
In season 4, episode 4 of the Amazon series The Boys, Homelander brings a Fudgie the Whale for the lab techs at Vought before he massacres them.
In the song "I'm Having a Party" by Jonathan Coulton, while listing reasons to come to his birthday party, the narrator says to, "Expect a visit from Fudgie the whale, ice cream and crunchies in his fudgy tail".
^Hein, John (2016). Fast Food Maniac: From Arby's to White Castle, One Man's Supersized Obsession with America's Favorite Food. Three Rivers Press. p. 153. ISBN9780553418033.
