Favorite Day Birthday Cake Premium Ice Cream — ENGINEERED

Munch or Dump rates Favorite Day Birthday Cake Premium Ice Cream by Favorite Day ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

The 'premium' label doesn't match the formula: this is sweetened with liquid sugar plus corn syrup plus high-fructose corn syrup, thickened with three different gums, and finished with a 'frosting flavor' and dyed sprinkles. That's an engineered frozen dessert, not the cream-and-sugar recipe 'premium' implies. Genuinely premium ice cream has five recognizable ingredients; this has a dozen-plus.

Why this verdict

• Sweetened with liquid sugar, corn syrup AND high-fructose corn syrup, three sweetener sources that are the opposite of a premium recipe.
• Three stabilizers are stacked together: guar gum, carob bean gum and carrageenan, plus a 'vanilla frosting flavor' and artificially colored candy sprinkles.
• This is a lab-built frozen dessert, not churned cream and sugar; real premium ice cream is cream, milk, sugar, egg and vanilla.
• 24 g sugar and 6.9 g saturated fat per 100 g with only 2.3 g protein.

Ingredients (11)

• cream (safe) — Whole dairy fat; the reason it is rich and calorie-dense.
• nonfat milk / whey / sweet cream buttermilk (safe) — Dairy solids for body.
• liquid sugar (caution) — First of three distinct sweeteners.
• Corn Syrup (caution) — A second refined sweetener present in all four bars.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (avoid) — Cheap refined sweetener that undercuts any 'premium' claim.
• cake pieces (moderate) — Contain wheat flour and more sugar; add gluten.
• candy sprinkles (caution) — Carry artificial colors.
• vanilla frosting flavor (moderate) — Manufactured flavor system rather than real vanilla.
• Guar Gum (safe) — Common plant-based thickener.
• Carob bean gum (moderate) — Second stabilizer in the stack.
• Carrageenan (caution) — Texturizer in the meat component.