Vegetables in Desserts

Before you grimace in disgust, think - you've got carrot cake, you've got courgette cake, you've got beet cake (at least these are all quite common to me).  Now open up more doors, there are no boundaries.  Why should some ingredients remain in savory dishes?  Why must we be so close-minded?  After a thorough brainstorm and online research, I present to you a couple of ingredients that feature themselves in a perhaps rather odd context.  These recipes are not tested, I merely chose them for you as inspiration and if you would like to try them out, be my guest, but if they turn out to be disastrous, I am not responsible for your waste of time and ingredients. 

Tomatoes
There is no controversy, we all know that it is actually a fruit and it's time to just treat it as what it is.  My Chinese mother used to make this sweet snack for me --- she chopped up those big beef tomatoes and tossed them with sugar and it was the most refreshing dessert for a hot summer day.  See, you can kind of see how it'd work right?  It's naturally sweet and so obviously there's a place for it in desserts.

Tomato Tarte Tatin from In Sweet Treatment
Tomato, Olive oil and Cinnamon cake from Love Food Eat

Peas
They are sweet, just like tomatoes.  It's often paired with mint in a soup or a sauce and so why not in desserts as well.

Pea and Ricotta Cupcakes from Cupcake Project
Spring Pea Cake from Butter Sugar Flowers

Cucumbers
Eat them alone and they're quite boring and neutral-tasting.  Think of it in a sweet gin and tonic.  Now think of it in a cake.

Cucumber and Mint Sorbet from Milliemirepoix
Cucumber and Mint Cupcakes from Veggie Desserts

Aubergines (eggplants)
Yes, this may sound a bit weird, but really, when cooked and smothered in chocolate and sugar all you get is its soft texture.  At least that's what I think.

An (apparently classic) Italian recipe of Aubergine, Ricotta and Chocolate Pie from Cooking with Rosetta.  It's like a parmigiana but... sweet.
Aubergine Tarte Tatin with Black Pepper from Gourmet

Cauliflower
This is seriously adventurous now.  Cauliflower cheesecake and pudding.  There's more, I've found a lot of cauliflower chocolate recipes as well.  Again, neutral tasting, I suppose?

Cauliflower Lemon Cheesecake from Fresh 4 Five
Indian Spiced Cauliflower Pudding from Everyday Musing

And there's so much more.  I've heard of red pepper upside down cakes, sweet asparagus beignets and spinach chocolate chip cookies! It's a whole other world.  Just fascinating, isn't it?