Air-Fryer Strawberry Doughnuts with Whipped Cottage Cheese

The filled doughnut is the European cousin of the American yeasted ring. Where the American doughnut shows off its glaze, the European version hides its filling inside — a Polish pączki, a German berliner, an Israeli sufganiyot, an Italian bombolone. The format is the same: round ball, sugar-dusted exterior, cream or jam interior, eaten with messy fingers.

This version uses whipped cottage cheese as the cream filling. This sounds wrong but is correct. Cottage cheese blended smooth with cream, sweetened with maple, becomes a thick mousse with twice the protein of typical pastry cream. The texture is rich without being heavy; the flavour is mild dairy with a slight tang. Pair with a swirl of fresh strawberry compote and it's genuinely delightful.

The dough is yeasted, soft, slightly enriched. Roll into balls the size of tennis balls (about 60g each), proof briefly, air-fry at 350°F for 8 minutes until golden and pillowy. Roll in caster sugar while still warm. Cool completely, then fill — piped through a small hole in the side.

The photo shows the assembled scene: a plate of sugared doughnuts with one cut open to show the white cottage-cheese cream and red strawberry swirl, fresh strawberries scattered, a pink ceramic background, a small dish of additional strawberry jam beside. The kind of breakfast you make on a Sunday morning when you have nowhere to be.