Wendy's New Birthday Cake Frosty Puts A Spin On The Classics

Friends and fans of all things ice cream, I come to you bearing good dessert news. For the first time in the chain’s history, Wendy’s has a new Frosty flavor and *hold for applause* it’s Birthday Cake. (Cue standing ovations, people weeping, a child turning to their parents saying, “Could I be a Birthday Cake Frosty when I grow up?”)

In honor of the chain’s 50th anniversary, which officially falls on Friday, Nov. 15, Wendy’s is releasing a limited-time Frosty flavor to add to their longstanding line-up of chocolate and vanilla. The Birthday Cake Frosty, as its name suggests, is the Frosty you know and love with a birthday cake twist. While it looks no different than your standard vanilla Frosty—apologies to those who were expecting sprinkles, candles, more celebratory fanfare—Wendy’s states the celebratory Frosty will taste like a slice of birthday cake in a commemorative Wendy’s cup.

Like its Frosty brethren, the Birthday Cake Frosty comes in four standard sizes: junior, small, medium, and large. But, let’s not kid ourselves, you’re not going to mess around with any size smaller than a large. You’re going to get the biggest size they offer. If a Birthday Cake Frosty came in a five-gallon bucket, you’d be in the drive-thru ordering “two, please.”

Fear not, those who prefer their birthday cake to come more festivity, the limited-edition birthday lineup also includes a Birthday Cake Frosty Cookie Sundae. “In restaurants for a limited time, the sweet celebratory treat starts with our creamy vanilla Frosty mixed with the flavor of classic birthday cake then is topped with sugar cookie pieces and sprinkles,” a post on Wendy’s Square Deal blog states. “It’s a birthday party in a cup (no off-tune singing or party hat required)!”

Put in simpler, less marketing-heavy terms, the sundae is like if you dumped a scoop of the Birthday Cake Frosty into a bowl and topped it with sprinkles and sugar cookie pieces. It’s essentially two desserts in one, both cookies and ice cream. A multitasking sweet treat, if you will. Unlike the Frosty, the Cookie Sundae is one-size-only. So, you’ll just have to settle for the standard size. Or order several, dump them into your preferred ice cream trough, and create the jumbo size Birthday Cake Frosty Cookie Sundae your stomach deserves.

Available at participating Wendy’s locations for an unspecified, limited time, the Birthday Cake Frosty starts at $1.49 and the Cookie Sundae is being sold for $2.19, depending on the location.

While the Birthday Cake Frosty is the first new Frosty flavor Wendy’s has offered in their 50-year history, it is not the first Frosty-related innovation. Earlier this year, Wendy’s added a Frosty Cookie Sundae that featured a scoop of its chocolate or vanilla Frosty topped with Chocolate Chunk Cookie bites and Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce. Coincidentally, the words “ice cream,” “chocolate chunk cookie,” and “Ghirardelli Chocolate” trigger my specific dessert-centric Pavlovian response.

In September of this year, Wendy’s announced plans to expand its breakfast menu to include a handful of new breakfast sandwiches and—are you sitting down? — a Frosty-ccino. It’s cold brew coffee. It’s Frosty creme in either chocolate or vanilla. It is the excuse to have ice cream for breakfast that you have been longing for. The new breakfast menu will officially roll out starting in 2020. So, you have time to mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable: you will be having ice cream for breakfast at least once a week in the new year.

Unlike its forthcoming breakfast menu, the Birthday Cake Frosty will only be around for a limited amount of time. So, if birthday cake and ice cream is your thing (read: you are human), you’ll want to head to Wendy’s to get your Frosty ASAP.