The Scoop on Penn State Berkey Creamery’s Celebratory New Flavor


UPDATE Sept. 1, 2015; The new flavor’s official name has been announced as “Birthday Bash”.

This year marks the 150^th anniversary of the Berkey Creamery, and what better way to celebrate than with a little cake? Birthday cake ice cream, to be precise. The fresh new flavor debuted this Wednesday (July 8) and will join the list of options now available in store and online.

Tom Palchak, manager of the Penn State Berkey Creamery, says current trends inspired the crew to create such a whimsical flavor. “Birthday cake ice cream is growing in popularity and over the past 12 months we have been receiving numerous requests for its availability. The timing is perfect!”

But before birthday cake could hit the shelves, it had to win the hearts of Berkey Creamery ice cream lovers everywhere. The creamery ran a contest this summer during which people could vote online to determine what flavor should be released to honor the special anniversary. Birthday cake just managed to beat out strawberry cheesecake and red velvet to claim its spot as the newest tasty treat. 

“I think it won because birthday ice cream on our 150th anniversary is a perfect match, though the contest was much, much closer than we expected. Only sixty votes separated the first and second place flavors.” says Palchak.

Now I am more of a peachy paterno girl myself, and red velvet sounds dangerously delicious, but I decided to give the new flavor a try.

Rich blue buttercream frosting swirled with cake batter and crunchy orange sprinkles, (delightfully deemed “cookie freckles” on the creamery’s website), come together in a mouthwatering new way.

Palchak says, “it tastes remarkably like real birthday cake.” — and I would have to agree. But it is more than just that. Like milk and cookies, the vanilla ice cream base keeps the sugary swirls from becoming too sweet, so the overall taste is refreshingly delicious.

While I was skeptical at first, the new flavor proved itself to be far above my expectations. If you’re in the mood for something sweet this summer, this cone takes the cake.