I've uses a cupcake batter and frozen pancake batter. The pancake batter made a flatter donut but the the kids liked it and I poured it straight from the bottle, no cleanup involved. The cupcake batter made prettier donuts that can be iced and decorated.
I use the recipe from between carpools. It isn't a donut flavor-it's more like a pancake or waffle. But I love making them as they're easy to do and the kids love decorating them. We usually do it after candlelighting where I make a batch of them and we have icing or chocolate, along with different toppings.
If you want a homemade fried donut flavor there's no way out without actually frying donuts.
