Celebrate Pride with a rainbow cake

There is no shortage of drinks and treats to celebrate Pride weekend in Vancouver — but a local catering and event planning company has a unique one: a Pride-themed rainbow cake.

"Nothing gets everyone's attention quite like the rainbow," said Shannon Boudreau of Lazy Gourmet.

Boudreau said Lazy Gourmet has been involved with Vancouver's LGBTQ community for some time, and has been making its rainbow cakes for five years.

She said the confection is a "no-bake cheesecake."

"It's hot in the summer, you don't want to be slaving over an oven. It's better if you get to put things in the freezer and not have to worry about it."

And here is how to make this colourful culinary creation yourself:

Pride No Bake Cheesecake

Yield: 1 x 7" cake

Crust: 

• 1 cup graham crumb
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter

Filling:

• 7g gelatin powder
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 cup cream cheese
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Dash salt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Food colour: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

Method:

1. Line tray with parchment paper. Line ring mold with plastic strip and place on tray.
2. Melt butter to liquid state. In a medium bowl, mix with graham crumb and sugar for crust. Place into ring mold. Press down to compact crust and form a solid disk.
3. Put into freezer to cool and set crust.
4. In a small bowl, mix gelatin powder together with cold water and set aside to firm.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and salt. Mix together until cream cheese has softened slightly.
6. Slowly add milk into cream cheese. Mix often, making sure to scrape the bowl to ensure an even mix. Mix in lemon juice.
7. Melt gelatin slightly back to a liquid and add into cream cheese mixture. Make sure to blend in right away so gelatin doesn't solidify first.
8. Set in fridge and allow to chill until slightly thickened. Meanwhile, whip cream until stiff peaks form.
9. Take cheesecake filling out of freezer, and gently fold in whipped cream. Make sure not to have any lumps left.
10. Separate filling into six small bowls evenly. Add red food colouring into the first bowl, and mix in. Add colour until desired shade is reached. Continue with other bowls, adding a different colour to each.
11. Remove base from freezer and pour red filling over. Carefully spread filling over base to get an even covering. Place back in freezer to set.
12. Remove base from freezer and pour orange filling over. Carefully spread filling over base to get and even covering. Place back in freezer to set.
13. Continue same steps with the rest of the coloured filling. Yellow, green, blue, and lastly purple.
14. Let cheesecake sit in fridge overnight to fully set filling.
15. When ready to eat, take out of fridge and carefully remove ring and plastic.
16. Garnish top with desired toppings and enjoy!