KANSAS CITY — Special occasions in July have inspired the creation of new indulgent desserts on menus.

To celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 15, Baskin-Robbins concocted its new line of Freak Shakes, featuring the chain’s ice cream milkshakes garnished with extreme toppings.

The Unicorn Freak Shake is a cotton candy milkshake with a scoop of cotton candy ice cream topped with Charms Fluffy Stuff cotton candy, Airheads Xtreme Rainbow Berry Sweetly Sour candy strips, a sugar cone, whipped topping, rainbow sprinkles, a marshmallow garnish and a cherry.

The Oreo ‘n Cookies Freak Shake is an Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream milkshake topped with a scoop of Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream that is garnished with a hot fudge drizzle, whipped topping, a slice of Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream Polar Pizza, a sugar cone, cherry and Oreo cookie pieces.

Baskin-Robbins Donut Shop Freak ShakeThe Donut Shop Freak Shake is a Jamoca Almond Fudge milkshake with a scoop of Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream topped with hot fudge whipped topping, Dunkin’ Donuts powdered and chocolate Munchkins donut holes, a Dunkin’ Donuts chocolate frosted with sprinkles donut, a sugar cone, cherry and rainbow sprinkles.

“We wanted to share our excitement for National Ice Cream Day with our guests the best way we know how — by creating a new and unexpected ice cream treat for them to enjoy,” said Carol Austin, vice-president of marketing for Baskin-Robbins. “Freak Shakes represent our passion for innovation, and we hope our guests will take a moment to celebrate National Ice Cream Day with their friends and family with these over-the-top treats as well as our special deals.”

The Cheesecake Factory is celebrating National Cheesecake Day, July 30, by debuting a duo of new cheesecake varieties.

Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake is a cherry cheesecake on a layer of fudge cake that is loaded with cherries and Ghirardelli chocolate.

The Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake features layers of Cinnabon cinnamon cheesecake, vanilla crunch cake with cinnamon chips and Cinnabon cream cheese frosting all topped with caramel.

“We are very pleased to introduce two new flavors of cheesecake in honor of National Cheesecake Day,” said David Overton, founder and chief executive officer of The Cheesecake Factory Inc. “Each year, guests look forward to dining with us to enjoy our 'any slice, half price' offer, and we anticipate this year to be more exciting than ever with the debut of two new cheesecakes.”

Dairy Queen commemorated the Fourth of July holiday with a new patriotic Blizzard: the Oreo Firework Blizzard Treat. The dessert features Oreo cookie pieces and red and blue popping candy blended with vanilla soft serve.

 View a slideshow of new menu items.