Air-Fryer Raspberry-Glazed Ring Doughnuts

The yeasted ring doughnut is the foundational form. Soft, slightly chewy, holes in the middle, glazed with something sweet. Bakery doughnuts are typically deep-fried; air-fried doughnuts skip the oil bath and produce something that's slightly less greasy, slightly more bread-like, but arguably better — the air-frying gives them a more delicate crumb and a more uniform surface colour for the glaze.

The yeasted dough is the slightly slower part of this recipe (one proof, about 30 minutes total). It's enriched with butter, an egg, and milk — soft and forgiving to handle. Roll out, cut with a 3-inch ring cutter (or a glass and a smaller bottle cap for the hole), proof briefly, air-fry.

The raspberry glaze is the visual hook. Real raspberries pushed through a sieve, mixed with icing sugar, becomes a glaze the colour of a 1950s diner counter. The natural pectin in the raspberries means it sets to a slightly tacky finish — perfect for catching sprinkles. Rainbow non-pareils are the only correct sprinkle topping. (No, you can't use chocolate sprinkles. This is a raspberry doughnut. Don't.)

The photo shows them cooling on a wire rack: vivid pink-glazed rings with rainbow sprinkles in irregular constellations, a few holes (the cutouts, also air-fried) tumbled across, sprinkles scattered across the dark background. Saturday morning, but make it photographic.