Carvel Ice Cream Cakes......

Carvel Ice Cream Cakes.......makes a Birthday a party!

Yesterday, was my grandson Zachary's 13th. birthday. I cannot believe that he is now officially a teenager......oh my goodness where did the years go. I was on the phone this morning talking to Ariana, his younger sister and she was telling me about what a nice day they had. She spent a long time describing that they had a special treat......a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.

As Ariana described this cake I found myself going off into my own childhood memories of this "gourmet treat". As she described the layers of the cake and broken Oreo cookies, I chuckled to myself. Us adults who grew up with Carvel, from the Carvel Store not the freezer at the grocery store, know better...we are talking about the incredible tasting chocolate crumbles that come from the Flying Saucer Crackers, that you can only get at Carvel.

As a kid growing up one of my special treats was when we piled into my dads car and headed for a Carvel store. These stores dotted Long Island and were as familiar a site then as McDonald's are today. Mom and dad would let us choose Vanilla, Chocolate, or whatever the special soft ice cream flavor of the day was. Most often we would choose the twist of chocolate and vanilla, with sprinkles of course!

My reminiscing took me back in time, so I googled Carvel to see what would come up. Tom Carvel started selling his product in 1934. To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Carvel Corporation actually built the world's largest ice cream cake at a celebration in New York City's Union Square Park. Weighing in at just under 11,000 pounds, the cake was made of Carvel's premium vanilla ice cream, its "famous chocolate crunchies, and Carvel's delicious chocolate brownie base." Carvel reports that it took 40 people about one hour to build and assemble the cake, which was about 18 ft long, 8 ft wide and 3 feet high when completed. I wish I could have seen that.

Carvel ice cream cakes and ice cream novelties can be found today in most grocery store freezers. This is not the same experience as going to the Carvel store, but this is what is available today. If you have not experienced a Carvel Ice Cream Cake, go for it....give it a try. Other products that Carvel handles are many novelty ice creams. I remember often I brought home packs of Flying Saucers for my girls. These are terrific, not like any other ice cream sandwich. They stay hard in the freezer and give that excellent Carvel creaminess once out. Brown Bonnets are another favorite.

So Happy Birthday, Zachary.........thanks for the memory. If you have any of the cake left have a bite for me. Carvel ice cream cake makes a birthday a party. This is not a commercial, just a wonderful childhood memory.