Best Stand Mixer in Home Baking
Which is the best stand mixer for you? As a home baker who bakes more than often my cake mixer is like my baking buddy. It can make or ruin my mood too! I think it is one of the most important tools a baker needs to make her baking life a lot easier. Not all mixers are made the same just as not all bakers needs are not the same. Here I will share with you my tips on what to look for when purchasing your next stand mixer.
Which is the BEST Stand Mixer for a Home Baker?
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion - none of the companies that make these products are paying me anything to share this view. The view is my own with the intention to help my fellow cake makers and home bakers.
Recently I was chatting with a group of Cake Mixers with a few Cake Decorator and we spoke of many different brands. Surprisingly I had so much to share. In fact I never realized that I had actually used a few brands.
The Best Stand Mixer in Home Baking
So I thought let me share my two cents with you here after all I do often share my recommendations with some of you on emails and messages.
The mixers over the years have come along way in the last few years. My mom uses to use one of these hand mixers. I have one too!
Today you get some really fancy and professional ones that can make your life so much easier like this one. It stirs and cooks simultaneously!! The bottom of the bowl can be heated which would make certain pastries that require cooking and heating at the same time a piece of cake. It also has a thermal resist glass blender and let me not tell you anything more about the attachments it comes with. You can see more about this wonderful Stand Mixer here
So you see; you can get really carried away when shopping for these. So it's best to make notes of what is important and what is not important when buying these.
The Best Stand Mixer
So first off - What do you look for when buying a Stand Mixer? (best stand mixer?)
Quality - buy from a company that you know has good quality products. Don't buy an unknown brand that may be price effective in the short term but more expensive is repairs later.
Durability- buy something that you know you can use over and over and over again. Buy something that you know will stand the extra load on those baking days when you have more work.
Buy one that can take the load of heavy dough such as a Whole Wheat flour and Fondant.
Features - It is worth taking a moment to think here.
You want to buy something that will do more than just mix your cakes. Right?
- So there's the paddle attachment for mixing the batter, the whisk attachment for whipping up creams and stuff and the Dough hook for baking bread and pastries. These usually come with the most popular brand anyways.
- Accessories create lots of extra features and add more value to the product such mincing, pasta, and blenders. So if you love cooking like me then you want to get some of those attachments with the mixer because they can be very expensive later on their own. Look for deals as sometimes these attachments are thrown in cheap to get you to buy the brand.
- If you are a Cake Decorator - I'd suggest buying
1. The splash guard - which really helps when working with powder sugar. Kitchen Aid or Kenwood K-Mix
2. TheFlex beaters for Kitchen Aid - they help with scraping the sides of your bowl.
3. If you do baking demos or baking videos like me then having a see-thru glass bowl for the Stand Mixer works amazing. and KitchenAid KSM105GBCMC 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Glass Bowl and Flex Edge Beater - Metallic Chrome
Size - This can be confusing but a very important decision. Which size do you need?
- If you just bake for family and friends then go with the regular basic 5 Quarts bowl.
If you bake large batches then you may want to choose the 7 Quarts Bowl. - Remember - if you choose a stand mixer with a bowl too big and you decide to whip only two egg whites those two egg whites are going to be at the bottom of a large bowl and the whisk attachment is not going to reach it. If you choose a bowl small and have a large batch - you may have to half the cake and mix two batches instead of one.
- I chose to go with the 5 Quarts mixer because even though I make a business I end up making many flavors so my cakes are not huge quantities. So you see it's an important decision to consider.
Looks
This is subjective. My wish list had many a few gorgeous stand mixers which look so pretty but either did not fit in my budget or did not have the feature I was looking for. I really wanted theKenwood Chefwhen I was shopping that was way over my budget. It came with all the attachments and accessories I wanted to like the Ice Cream maker as well. Sigh!
Price
Again this is something we all have to deal with and like it or not - what we want is always over the budget. Personally, I'd say make a list of what you definitely want to buy and while would encourage you to buy the attachments and accessories as a package sometimes it's just not possible.
Word of advice - make a plan and do it when you can do justice to the purchase and not regret later.
Warranty
My advice on warranty - get it! Always look for the best and long warranty. Things happen and no matter how best the quality sometimes its' best to have that extra security.
So; which Stand Mixer should you buy? which is the best stand mixer?
Some of the most common ones that I know me and some of my Cake Decorating friends using are the Kitchen-Aid or the Kenwood K-Mix.
Personally I am a big fan of Kenwood K-Mix - I have been using mine for over five years now and have had to take it to serve only once when a small little screw inside has come off making a weird sound. The service was excellent I took it there and they fixed it no questions asked.
I have used a Kitchen-Aid as well. My mother-in-law owned the Kitchen-Aid with all its accessories and so sometimes when we visited her I'd often baked with her and had a very positive experience with her Kitchen Aid.
Another good mixer I have had the fortune to use was the Cuisine Art. I twice did baking demos organized at a students home and she owned a Cuisine Art and must say it was a pleasant experience. I was almost jealous because she could not stop raving about her stand mixer.
I know all three brands of Stand Mixers mentioned pass the test of quality , durability and features. Some of my friends who have had their Kitchen Aid for over 15 years if not more.
I hope this has been a helpful post and hope it helps you with your next shopping for Stand Mixers. If you have any more suggestions or experiences to share with us please do in the comments below. We would love to hear.
Don't forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
Which is the Best Stand Mixer for a Home Baker?
Are you into cake decorating - you may like to see more business post.
Cake Decorating Business | How to find inspiration for cake decorating
Maxwell
Very useful article. I just got myself a Kenwood because you have a Kenwood and I follow all your recipes. Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Maxwell. Aww, Congrats on your new buy. I think you are going to have fun with this new toy. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a lovely day.
Neha Srivastava
I guess kitchenaid models are good for professional baking. These stand mixers are good and reliable.
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely Neha. Many professionals use Kitchen-Aid and love it.
Jacelyn
I wish I could afford a stand mixer. I currently only have a food processor
Veena Azmanov
I have both. The food processor does a lot of things that a stand mixer does.
Jessica
I love my kenwood stand mixer too! Been using it for over 10 years now.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Jessica. Love my Kenwood too.
Aluguel Avare
I love my kitchen Aid - been using it for over 7 years now.. love the attachments.
Veena Azmanov
Happy to here that Aluguel. I do like the kitchen Aid too.
Avare
This is a very informative post. This is going to be very useful for my next purchase.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Aware Happy to be of help
Katharina
I need to buy me a new cake mixer and cannot decide which. However both these are out of my budget at the moment. Cant' decide weather to still buy this or buy one in my budget.
Veena Azmanov
Oh I know that dilemma been there too. Well, sometimes you just have to to work out what is more important and what is possible.
Penny
I have a local brand been using it for over 5 years now. Love it.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Penny.
Kareem
I think both kitchen aid and kenwood are out of my budget. I wish I could afford them. Thanks for all the information on what to look for
Veena Azmanov
I know what you mean. These things can be pricey but then again if you make the right purchase it will last you for years making it money well spend. I hope you find what you looking for.
Leliata
I need to boy a new cake mixer but cant' decide on what to buy. Kenwood is really expensive when I live. Thank for sharing the tips.
Veena Azmanov
I know what you mean. Kitchen appliances can be expensive but they are also something you buy once is a few years. So you must make sure you read reviews. I hope you find what you looking for.
Sheree
I have a Kenwood too and I love it. Very informative post.
Veena Azmanov
Than you Sheree
Georgetta
I love my kitchen Aid and would not trade it for anything. Thank you for writing this honest post and review. Shared it with a friend buying a new one.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for sharing Georgetta. I love my Kenwood too so I understand how feel.
Rony
You have a wonderful blog. Every post is packed with so much to learn. Thank you !
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Rony for your support and kind words. Happy to hear my posts are useful.
Andrea
I have a Kenwood k-mix too and I love it! This is a good post. Thanks for all the amazing tutorials.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Andrea. Happy to hear you find my tutorials useful.
Santos
I have a stand mixer that is not mentioned here. It's a low cost brand I got from a local shop. It works ok but not that great. You are right about one thing - you get what you pay for!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Santos. Yes, that is very true. In life you do get what you pay for!! Some low cost brands do give good value for money though.
Saul Hynes
I have had my Kitchen Aid for many many years now and it is still the best purchase I ever made. Compared to Kenwood the price for Kitchen Aid is much more affordable. Love the attachments too!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Saul. I hear you !! The price for Kenwood is definitely more than Kitchen Aid in most places.
Mairam
I too have a Kenwood like you. Unfortunately I did not buy the attachments as it was so expensive. The brand is definitely a good one thoguh.
Veena Azmanov
Yes I too love my Kenwood Mairam. I have the K-Mix and unfortunately did not buy the attachments which I really would have loved to use.
Delia
Thank you for this comprehensive post. I was wondering which I should buy. I think I will buy the Kenwood K-mix too! I love your blog so much. It is really very helpful. I have learned so much from you. Thank you !
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Delia. Happy to know you found this post and my blog useful. Appreciate you coming back to write this feedback.
Natalie
I am a baker myself and I usually bake things like cookies, cupcakes and bread, and i would like to buy my first stand-mixer but i can for the life of my figure out what first stand-mixer i should get? Would there be a brand you recommend?
Veena Azmanov
Natalie.. I use a Kenwood K-mix as you can see that is why I recommend it. I've been using it for over 7 years now and love it. Having said that the other brand that is really good and I know many of my friends recommend highly is Kitchen Aid. Compared to the two - kitchen aid is more affordable too. I hope this helps.
Zeida Solomons
I have the Kenwood chef. Is it as good as the K-Mix?
Veena Azmanov
The K-Mix is a Kendwood brand Zeida
Selena
What about Karmin professional stand mixer?
Veena Azmanov
I have not tried that one Selena so I cannot tell you about it. I have been using my Kenwood for years now and I love it.