They’re airy and soft, topped with a hot pink sprinkled glaze that Homer Simpson himself would be polishing off whole.

Superkid ice cream. Gushers. Maraschino cherries. “Too much food colouring,” my mom said. “Your body can’t process it, so it’ll stay inside you for the next 100 years!”

And so, not only did I steer clear – oh no – I was afraid. Afraid I’d live my whole life with a maraschino cherry sitting at the pit of my stomach. Afraid I’d someday get an X-ray and see a neon red spot in the middle of it. I’d be old, hunched over and wrinkly and it’d still be in there swooshing around — yet another reason for my mom to say I told you so.

Oh, but how I’ve showed her. At some point between then and now, my food colour-a-phobia takes a full 180°.

Today, I’m eating the rainbow. Fruit’s great and all, but have you tried jujubes? Mike and Ikes? Don’t even get me started on Swedish Fish. In a bakery lineup of black forest, angel cake and sponge, give me funfetti.

This may be a spontaneous self-diagnosis, but I’m pinning my affinity for colourful sweets to making up for lost time.

It might explain why, when I thought to make doughnuts, I had in mind the pink, whimsical, sprinkle-coated kinds we all know and love from cartoons.

In the making

I started the first time ’round with this recipe from King Arthur Flour. The result, although un-photographed, was a light and airy cake-like doughnut, made even more delicious with rainbow sprinkles.

Following this success, I tried switching it up with this recipe from Easy as Apple Pie. How could I resist — hers are decorated, arranged and pictured to perfection. The process, however, wasn’t as simple for me:

✘ For an even bake and less mess, I scooped the batter into a pastry bag to pipe right into the pans. Warning, the batter came out so thin and runny, it dripped endlessly out the other end as I was filling the bag.

✘ Be sure to grease your pans thoroughly. Those guys won’t want to come out otherwise, and your glaze will be crumby.

✔ Even after its time in the oven, the doughnuts will look pale and uncooked. Use a knife or toothpick to test the inside.

✔ The whiteness of the doughnut made the bright pink icing look even brighter. Be sure to glaze the top of the doughnut (the part not touching the pan) for best results.

✔ The icing is thick and dries shiny, but still very drippy! Don’t expect the doughnut dipping to be clean and tidy. My hand looked like a wax candle at one point.

With all this in mind, see my adapted recipe below, which combines the best of both doughnut successes!

The recipe