14 Delicious Desserts That Sneak in Summer Veggies

A new take on a favorite veggie dessert–this recipe includes unsweetened cocoa, walnuts and whole wheat flour. The result: rich, chocolatey, and dairy-free zucchini bread.

The "secret ingredient" in these coconut-infused blueberry cupcakes--mashed potatoes--gives the cake great texture, almost like pound cake. The fluffy frosting is just fun. Because it's low in calories and fat, you can spread or pipe a generous amount on top of each cupcake to make them look extra festive. The frosting stiffens as it stands, so be sure to put it on the cupcakes right after you make it.

Everyone loves sweet corn and ice cream in the summer. Here's a recipe for sweet corn ice cream that combines the two! This rich corn ice cream recipe is amazing on its own or with fresh blueberries or warm blueberry pie.

Classic carrot cake goes vegan in this easy recipe, and gets covered with coconut whipped cream to replace the traditional cream cheese frosting. A mixture of flax and water makes a sturdy substitute for eggs in this vegan cake. Plus, sweet crushed pineapple helps to make this cake delicious with less added sugar.

Creamy avocados make this dairy-free and vegan chocolate dessert recipe super-rich. Serve as a not-so-sweet dessert or with strawberries for dipping.

Shredded zucchini and mashed banana complement each other and ensure that this wholesome loaf stays nice and moist. The banana adds sweetness to this quick-bread mashup for just the right flavor without too much added sugar.

A quick stir-in of grated carrots not only makes these easy drop cookies reminiscent of spicy carrot cake, it also adds sweetness and keeps these cakey cookies moist. A drizzle of cream cheese frosting on top finishes off these better-for-you goodies perfectly.

The batter for this healthy one-bowl brownie recipe is stirred together right in the saucepan used to melt the butter and chocolate--no mixing bowl needed and less cleanup for you. Using shredded zucchini in this healthy dessert recipe creates a tender, moist brownie with about half the amount of butter and sugar found in a classic recipe--and it's virtually undetectable in the baked brownies.

This rich homemade ice cream recipe was inspired by Linnalla Pure Irish Ice Cream in County Clare, Ireland. They add carrageenan made from local seaweed to give the ice cream a more velvety texture. We've simplified the recipe for home, relying on only egg yolks and cream to do the job. Chopped honeycomb pieces add texture and pops of pure honey flavor, but feel free to omit them if you prefer a simpler ice cream. This ice cream would be delicious with rhubarb pie or crumble, or all on its own.

Zucchini and whole wheat flour add their moistness and hearty texture to quick chocolate chip scones.

Almond flour provides the base for this tender gluten-free cake that is filled with carrots, spices and just a hint of coconut. Look for almond flour in the gluten-free baking section of most major supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

If you like zucchini bread, you'll love these moist zucchini cookies with melted chunks of dark chocolate. We love the pieces of chocolate you get by chopping your own, but chocolate chips will work well too.

This easy and healthy zucchini bread recipe is elevated to company-worthy brunch fare with the addition of fresh blueberries to the batter and a simple lemon glaze and toasted almonds on top. A combination of whole-wheat flour and oats in the batter make it more nutritious--and more interesting--than standard zucchini bread, too!

This orange-scented carrot cake cheesecake has a wonderfully moist and flavorful carrot cake shell which holds the creamy cheesecake portion. The swirl effect of dollops of cheesecake batter is a fun and festive way to round out this rich dessert.