10 Target Favorite Day Frozen Desserts, Ranked

There are many times I have purchased a frozen dessert or sweet treat to serve at a dinner party, luncheon, or shower. A nice frozen pie, cake, or eclair can be quite the time and money saver. And while you do want a tasty finale for any occasion when you are hosting, the dinner itself is generally the main event and what you want to spend the majority of your time on. So, I was happy to see that Favorite Day had quite a large selection of frozen desserts available at my local store.

Rounding them up, I immediately set my mind to ranking them based on flavor alone. The prices were all in the same range and seemed reasonable, so what else but taste and sheer eating enjoyment would sway my ranking? Well, when I got them home and started looking at the directions for preparation, it was easy to see that something else was going to come into play.

I thought these desserts would be simple thaw-and-serve, or perhaps require just a little baking time, which is no big deal. But some of the directions crossed the line into convoluted and quite time-consuming. That meant ranking quickly became about taste, whether I would be happier to pay more at a proper bakery for a finished product, or if it would be easier to just make the dessert myself from scratch. And based on those criteria, here is how these desserts ranked.

Now I am happy to say that the chocolate tarts were one of the simpler thaw-and-serve selections that I had hoped for. All I had to do was take it out of the package and put it in the refrigerator four hours before serving. Easy! But once thawed, one of the tarts looked to have a film over the top that had partially pulled away. I began peeling, and it easily came off in a couple of pieces. But I was unable to determine what it was — was it a thin piece of parchment, plastic, or a skin like you get when making homemade pudding on the stovetop?

Once the film had been removed, that tart had a dark matte finish, while the other one remained shiny and didn't appear to have a removable covering. And the box gave no details. To be on the safe side, it was the one I had pulled the film from that I tasted.

The chocolate stayed solid, although thawed, and popped away from the tart shell. Granules of sugar had sunk to the bottom and were obvious between my teeth. The chocolate itself left a dark cocoa taste on my palate, which wasn't bad. But the shell, while abundant, offered no real flavor at all. I took only a couple of bites but remained reluctant, put off by the strange film I couldn't shake from my mind. Needless to say, this easily fell to the bottom of the list.

The first thing I liked about the lava cake selection was that each cake was separately packaged, so it wasn't necessary to prepare the entire box. Additionally, each came in a bakeable plastic Bundt-looking dish and went straight from the freezer into the oven (or microwave if you prefer). After baking, it simply needed to sit for a few minutes before being inverted onto a serving plate. And all those steps went smoothly.

I took a fork and cut through to the middle, looking forward to the small river of melted chocolate to run out like on the box, but nothing appeared. There didn't even look to be any chocolate that should have melted and caused the lava flow. It was simply a small chocolate cake. And when attempting to get a forkful of cake, the beveled sections oddly broke away from each other into separate pieces, like the slices of an orange. It was strange and gave the cake an oddly manufactured vibe.

When I took my first bite, the artificiality of it all seemed to continue. It tasted of cocoa flavoring and just a little something more. In the background was a flavor that tasted as if the packaging had leached something into the cake. It was foreign, odd, and possibly plastic. The texture of the cake was nice, however. It had a crispy shell, with the cake itself resembling devil's food. But overall, this was only a fraction better than the chocolate tart.

This 12-count box of macarons offered six flavors: Vanilla, lemon, salted caramel, chocolate hazelnut, pistachio, and raspberry. They were delightfully petite and brightly colored, making it obvious which offered which flavor. And they simply had to be thawed in the refrigerator for four hours before serving. I was very hopeful about these macarons, even as I bit into one and delightfully enjoyed the crispness of the outer crust. But that all quickly changed.

The vanilla flavor tasted like almond paste and anise, with no vanilla to be had. The lemon did taste like lemon, but had a blunt aspect to the flavor that seemed to stop it from completely flourishing. The rest offered barely a whisper of their respective flavors, with the raspberry offering its taste solely from a dehydrated fruit paste filling. And while there seemed to be a texture of nuts in the sandwiched cream of the chocolate hazelnut, that was a texture I found evident in all the flavors, which I finally realized was the crispy exterior needing to be thoroughly chewed.

The flavor of these macarons reminded me of the cheap macarons I had early in my career that made me believe I didn't like them. It wasn't until I had some from a proper bakery that I experienced the fullness of the textures, crisp and creamy, and the brightness of the rich fillings that real macarons possess. And while better than those ranked lower, I will continue to get these cookies from a bakery.

The tiramisu is where I started getting into convoluted instruction territory, which began with "to serve from container, remove first slice while frozen." But then what? Removing a slice while frozen defeats the purpose of serving the dessert from the container. And if you would like to put this on your own serving platter, you need to pop it out of the foil packaging while frozen. And let me tell you that is not easy, if even possible. I ended up choosing to remove a slice.

The tiramisu next needed to be thawed for six hours, or overnight, then served chilled. But after following all the instructions, I was left with a complete mess. The solid cake (almost hard cookie-like) foundation had an incredibly soupy top that resembled a runny meringue. The cocoa powder slid to one side, and the whole appearance became incredibly unappetizing. Thankfully, it did taste better than it looked, as the bottom layer provided a good flavoring of tiramisu, which is the only thing that places this above the ones ranked lower. The textures were all wrong, and I wish the cake bottom had been ladyfingers, but the flavor was nearly there.

Honestly, making tiramisu from scratch is just as difficult as following these instructions. And you'd end up with a much bigger and better dessert to serve! If you can make a no-bake cheesecake, you can make tiramisu. And that is what I advise you to do before choosing this option.

What impressed me the most about this product was that each serving came in real terra-cotta ramekins. And they were beautiful! Even without the crème brûlée, the ramekins were worth the $7.99 price tag, which ended up being a good thing. It is what allows this option to rank as high as it does.

From the freezer, I sprinkled this with a separated packet of large, granulated sugar. It was then broiled, cooled on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then placed back in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to chill thoroughly before serving. That all took about 30 minutes. In the end, this looked like a crème brûlée from a restaurant. The sugar crystallized gorgeously, and the dessert looked decadent in the ramekins. But tasting it was an immediate disappointment. The density was runny on top, and it seemed to have curdled on the bottom. The flavor was eggy and had a strange artificial vanilla aspect.

I know the intent was that broiling this would have completed the baking of the custard, but it did not. Chilling it longer would not achieve that either. This needed to be in a hot water bath until set up and the sugar torched as intended. While I am happy to have a new set of ramekins, I would advise getting crème brûlée from a restaurant to-go if you want to serve it at a party.

It took two separate run-throughs of baking these mini butter croissants before they came out correctly, but that was my fault. These have to be set on parchment paper and allowed to rise for nine hours, or overnight, before baking. And while the box is very specific that this needs to be at room temperature, I let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator for the first round. That left me with very sad-looking, pale, doughy croissants. However, allowing them to set out overnight on my countertop made all the difference.

While the croissants didn't seem to puff too much overnight, they sure did in the oven. To the point where I wondered why these are called mini. I felt these croissants came out of the oven quite fluffy and large. The texture was layers of crisp flakiness that gave way to huge, pillowy pockets of air. And visually, these looked exactly like they did on the box, which surprised me. What also surprised me was the lack of butter flavor, or any flavor for that matter. These tasted only of oil and dough.

Although these croissants need some doctoring with a drizzle of melted butter, chocolate, or some icing, they were still quite impressive to bake at home. Served with some soft butter and preserves, these would be beautiful to serve guests, but they can't stand on their own. And that is what places them in the middle of this list.

These cinnamon bun empanadas can go straight from the freezer into the oven or air fryer. I chose the oven and, on second thought, I wished I had popped them in the air fryer. Baking these did not create a crispiness to the outside of the empanada that the air fryer possibly could have, although that is not guaranteed. Out of the oven, though, these lacked the texture that I was hoping for. The crust was dense, slightly tough, and tasted very much like dough, although the empanadas were not as greasy as I had expected. They actually had a flour aspect that reminded me very much of the appearance and texture of a Totino's pizza roll.

The cinnamon bun filling was supposed to be that of cinnamon, brown sugar, and cream cheese, but of those three ingredients, it was only the cinnamon that seemed to make a palatable appearance. The filling had a smooth texture but no tang of cream cheese. And there was something spicier than just cinnamon that came through, making me think of cloves or allspice.

These weren't bad. They could actually serve as a fun after-school snack. But something was missing in the flavor profile, like a creamy or buttery taste, that was needed to round things out. These are also not something I would consider serving at a party. So, with all said and done, these come out better than the ones ranked lower but not reaching the heights of those yet to come.

Ube is the Filipino word for purple yam. The ube is a vibrantly colored root vegetable with purple flesh that gets soft and sweet when cooked. While it is native to Southeast Asia, it has become a flavor that is now eaten and enjoyed around the world. And that decadently sweet and tropical flavor makes these empanadas a treat not to be missed.

Much like the cinnamon bun empanadas, these ube cheesecake empanadas may have benefited from being air-fried over being baked in the oven, which is something I suggest you try. Unlike its lower-ranked empanada cousin, this one has an inner filling flavor that surpasses that of the dough and encompasses the aesthetic of an empanada much better.

With just one bite, I was astounded by the lush, bright, tangy flavor that hit my tongue. And I think it tasted even better, being a vibrant fuchsia color — so playful. These empanadas had a fruity taste, with an obvious cheesecake tartness, that also seemed to be accompanied by coconut. And the crunch of the crust that came through on the end was a nice bluntness to the refreshing bite. And while I don't know that I would serve these after a nice, sit-down dinner, they would make a great sweet snack at a brunch, shower, or birthday party. 

Super easy to make and deliciously unique, these were a hit. However, the next two were much closer to home runs.

Just like the mini butter croissants, these need to be thawed at room temperature for nine hours or overnight. During that time, I noticed these were considerably puffier than the mini croissants, but it was in the oven that they reached their true glory. These became as large as any chocolate croissant I've ever seen in a bakery. But they were delicate and reached the edge of burning very quickly. So, you have to keep your eyes on them during the 13–17 minutes of the baking window. And it's the bottoms that will burn first, not the tops.

These smelled delicious from the oven and were lovely on the dessert plate I set them on, which they amply filled. The texture was perfect with layers upon layers of flakiness and crispness. The cocoa of the chocolate was subtle and dark with a smooth texture, not completely melted. And there was just enough chocolate, which was nice. These had a hint of sweetness and butter throughout, and the darkness of the cocoa echoed into the aftertaste pleasingly.

These would be perfect to serve after a nice dinner to complement steak, fish, or pasta. I also think these would pair well with a deep red wine. And the size is just big enough that I believe even non-dessert eaters would have a hard time passing one up. If they hadn't needed so much attention, these definitely would have been first place.

Directly from the box, these triple berry tarts were beautiful with a golden brown crust, vibrant berry color, and toasted meringue-looking topping. Even better, they just needed to be thawed in the fridge for four hours before they could be served. Simple! With every step of reviewing this tart, my expectations were exceeded.

The crust wasn't too thick, and it let the berry filling take center stage. It felt like a proper tart crust in texture and buttery flavor, not a graham cracker shell as I had anticipated. The fruit filling wasn't dry or seemingly manufactured. It had the rich flavor of a homemade compote someone had taken time with on the stovetop — perfect balance of sweetness to tartness. The raspberry was the prominent recognizable flavor, but the red and black currants also got in on the show. The meringue was subtly sweet and held a nice texture. And while I would have been more than happy to eat the whole thing, I honestly feel this would be a large enough serving for two.

I wish these had been individually wrapped so I could enjoy them one at a time if I wanted, but I'm more than happy to just pop one in a freezer bag. I would be proud to serve these on any occasion I am hosting — a brunch, afternoon tea, or sit-down dinner — and will enjoy them on my own from time to time as well. I am confident in suggesting you do the same.

When I purchased these, I thought that they would all be simple to prep and serve from the freezer, but I was woefully mistaken. Some of them had so many steps and needed so much attention that prep quickly became something that affected their ranking. Of course, taste and appearance came into play. I wanted something I would serve as a dessert to guests that cost me as little money and time as possible, but was something I was proud to have on my table. I have to say that Favorite Day had a lot of misses.

It took a few days to prepare and taste all the items, with some of them taking two rounds to do properly. And while I don't think a frozen dessert should be that complicated, I wanted to give each option its very best opportunity. I tasted each one with a clean palate and made generous notes on its appearance, aroma, taste, and texture. They were all tasted at their instructed time and temp and offered their best chance to wow me.

The top three I would highly consider having again. I think the top two have the best chance of making another appearance in my kitchen. And it would be well worth it, even if just for me. But the rest I suggest skipping. There are many easier-to-prepare and better frozen desserts out there, and there are plenty of good bakeries, even if they are just your local grocery bakery section. I feel certain, though, that whatever alternative you choose will serve you and your guests better than the ones on this list.