6 Desserts That Won’t Derail Your Diet

Spoon into these lovely little cakes and discover a delightful surprise: the batter magically separates while baking into a fluffy cake atop a luscious lemon pudding. They have all the tart-sweet flavor of a lemon pie with none of the fuss, and they make a lovely light dessert.

This pretty dessert is a breeze to make and can be prepared several days ahead of time. The gelatin acts as a preservative; berries that can quickly languish in the fridge keep for days on end when suspended in grape-flavored “Jell-O.”

Homemade applesauce is richly flavored, tart and sweet — almost like apple pie filling — and a world apart from store-bought. Serve it warm out of the oven for instant comfort.

Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, these gluten-free meringues are sweet, salty, and light as a cloud. Enjoy them as is or pile them into a bowl with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

This recipe comes from Gina Homolka’s bestselling cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast & Slow (Clarkson Potter, 2016). Gina lightens things up by folding some Greek yogurt into the whipped cream — this also adds a slight tang that’s delicious with the berries.

This fruit-packed smoothie is a little sweet, a little tart and a whole lot of healthy. Frozen fruit and low fat Greek yogurt make it extra thick and creamy — a treat!