Skittles candy used to use the catchphrase, “Taste the Rainbow.” It could also be the unofficial slogan for the month of June.
That’s right. Pride Month is upon us and that means you are going to be seeing rainbows everywhere. They are on storefronts and on houses. They are in yards and in windows. They are tucked into the collars of dogs being walked by their owners who wear them on their t-shirts.
And it’s a wonderful thing.
As recently as 30 years ago, LGBTQ+ Pride was still something of a fringe festival celebrated mostly in the nation’s larger cities and university towns. Today, there are more than 20 Pride celebrations and events in Iowa. Towns like Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, and Oskaloosa all have Pride events scheduled for this summer (a full schedule can be found at the ACLU Iowa website). Locally, North Liberty will host “Let Love Fly,” a kite-flying event, on June 13. The Iowa City Pride Festival and Parade is scheduled for June 20.
What a change. In 1970, the Gay Liberation Front at the University of Iowa sponsored a float in the annual homecoming parade. Later that year, the U of I became the first public university to sponsor a student LGBTQ+ group.
Still, change came slowly, and sometimes it was hard. According to the organization DBQ Pride, the first LGBTQ+ march in Dubuque occurred in September of 1987. It was met by a hostile crowd that shouted obscenities and threw rocks and eggs at the 30 marchers.
In 2026, however, Dubuque is one of the Iowa cities with multiple Pride events scheduled.
To help kick off Pride Month, I’ve included a number of desserts sure to “wow” guests at your own functions. All feature the rainbow, and are easy to make (though, I must admit, the cupcakes take a little time!).
So, why rainbows?
The rainbow became associated with the LGBTQ+ community in the 1970s after artist Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flag. Baker was urged by San Francisco’s gay politician, Harvey Milk, to design a symbol of hope and pride. Previously, LGBTQ+ groups had used the pink triangle – the symbol used by the Nazis to identify LGBTQ+ prisoners – as their symbol.
Baker told Tim magazine in 2015 that “We needed something that expressed us. The rainbow really fits that, in terms of we’re all the colors and all the genders and all the races.”
Rainbow cupcakes
This recipe from the Food Network is easier to make than you think. They are time-consuming, however, as you must add each color to each cupcake by hand.
The result is worth it. You get a ridiculously beautiful rainbow of cake that will have your guests/family oohing and aahing.
I made one change from the original recipe, substituting an easier vanilla frosting from the website Sugar Spun Run.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1 ¾ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice from ½ lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ sticks butter, room temperature (soft, but still cool to the touch)
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Purple food coloring/gel
For the Frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoons
Pinch of salt
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cupcakes:
Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Stir together the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter, ¾ cup sugar, and the lemon zest over medium-high speed for about five minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Beat in a third of the flour mixer. Scrape the bowl. Beat in half of the milk mixture. Continue alternating – a third of the flour followed by half of the milk – until incorporated.
Now, here’s where you need your hand mixer. Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining quarter cup of sugar until egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter.
Divide your batter between six small bowls. Add a few drops of the purple food coloring/gel to the first bowl and stir to mix in the color. Follow with each subsequent color in its own bowl.
Spoon about 1 ½ teaspoons of the purple mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Follow with the blue, then the green, then the yellow, the orange, and the red.
Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes (they should spring back when touched). Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting:
Beat the butter and the salt together until the butter is fluffy (about two minutes). Add the powdered sugar – a half-cup at a time – and mix thoroughly to incorporate. Once you’ve add all of the sugar, mix in the cream followed by the vanilla. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more cream (half-a-tablespoon at a time). If it is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
You should have enough to frost your 12 cupcakes (with a little left over). Decorate with rainbow sprinkles, if desired.
Rainbow Rice Krispie bars
This recipe from Ree Drummond is stickier and sweeter than regular Rice Krispies bars. In fact, I reduced the sweetness a bit by eliminating the white chocolate drizzle that she included in the original recipe (feel free to restore it if you like).
Still, they are very colorful and easy to make.
Ingredients
1 stick of butter
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (10-oz.) bag of miniature marshmallows
1 (10-oz) bag of mini-rainbow marshmallows
4 cups of Fruity Pebbles cereal
4 cups of regular Rick Krispies cereal
Rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter foams and begins to turn brown. Remove from the heat. Stir in the salt, followed by the vanilla extract. Now add the first bag of marshmallows (the regular white ones). Stir until melted. Add the rainbow marshmallows. It’s okay if they do not melt all the way. Next, stir in both cereals. Make sure to fully coat the cereal with the marshmallow mixture.
Scrape into your prepared pan. Press to ensure the bars are even. Top with the rainbow sprinkles (if using).
Allow bars to set for 30 minutes before cutting.
Rainbow cheesecake brownies
Here’s another version of the rainbow. This one comes from Eat the Love for the chocolate lover in your life.
Ingredients
For the brownie batter:
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder (optional)
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1 ¼ cup flour
For the Cheesecake Batter:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour
Food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch pan. Line it with parchment paper, and grease the parchment. Set aside.
Combine the melted butter with the sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in the vanilla, salt, instant coffee/espresso (if using), and baking powder. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the flour just until no more visible flour remains. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Now, make the cheesecake batter. Combine the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth (no lumps should remain). Add the vanilla and flour and mix until combined.
Divide the cheesecake batter into six separate bowls (try to have an equal amount in each bowl, but it’s not critical that your proportions be perfect). Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl (red to one bowl, orange to another, yellow to another and so on). Stir and add additional food coloring until you have reached your preferred shade.
Drizzle dollops of each color of cream cheese atop the brownie mixture. Take a butter knife or a chopstick, and drag it through the colored cheesecake layer. Don’t go overboard. You want a sort of psychedelic mix of colors. Too much mixing, and the cheesecake layer will turn an unappetizing shade of gray!.
Bake for 27 to 32 minutes. Remove from the oven and wait until cool to cut.
Michael Knock is a longtime food columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Celebrating Pride month with food | Food Column
Reporting by Michael Knock, Special to the Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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