First food mixer - any hints and tips appreciated please.

I have a very elderly Kenwood stand mixer so my tips may have been superseded but I find that a damp cloth underneath stops the mixer ‘walking about’ on the worktop especially if you’re making bread in it, and always remember to start mixing on a slow speed until flour or anything similar is mixed in. Failure to do so can result in a very messy kitchen! If mixing in icing sugar hold a tea towel over the top to start with.

Thank you. I had had visions of an icing sugar cloud in the kitchen!
The forecast is for rain tomorrow so maybe I’ll have a go at a sponge. Fingers crossed!

If you’re doing a sponge, don’t over mix it. I find the most important bit is to beat the butter well at first then don’t over do it afterwards, have fun.

Yes, I don't know how I lived for at least 50 years without knowing that about not beating the mixture once the flour is added. The German name "Rührkuchen" should have been a clue (translates to "Stirred cake")

OK, tips for a stand mixer. Make sure you use the correct attachments (dough hooks for bread, whisks for cream.etc). You still have to scrape the sides clean during mixing to make sure everything is mixed in properly. Get a couple of good silicone spatulas for this if you don't already have one.

In my experience attachments for grating and slicing are not always very sturdy. The weak spots are the plastic parts.. Treat with care and wash by hand.

I prefer the food processor for mixing everything that doesn't need a good beating, but it isn't big enough for a decent amount of

I do use the citrus squeezer quite a bit, though, for fresh orange and grapefruit juice.

Whoops, posted early because the plumber was here and I had to see him out so got distracted!

I was only going to say that some things are too big for the food processor and are beat done in the stand mixer such as bread dough. My stand mixer isn't as good as a Kenwood and if there is only a small amount in it, it just pushes the mixture right around the edge of the bowl and whips the air. I've seen professionals use the Kentwood and the paddles are much better in design and they reach right round the bowl and beat the whole mixture, so we'll done to your family for choosing a good make.

Thank you, that’s really useful inside intel.

I’m planning to start small! 🤞

I couldn’t live without my Kenwood mixer. I’ve still got my 1974 original, defunct and sitting in the garage. I’ve also got the 1990s one that I used in our second home, house sold but couldn’t part with the mixer. I will pass it on to someone. DH bought me a new one a couple of years ago in an emergency when the 1974 one began playing up!

Posted too soon. I meant to add, enjoy your mixer and the lovely cakes.

To give you some ideas other than cakes

- Mixing mincemeat with chopped veg for meatballs, mince or shepherd's pie
- Mixing scrambled eggs
- Making pastry
- Mixing mashed potatoes

Some jobs, you will decide, are not worth setting up the mixer for. It depends what you eat a lot of and whether you have room to keep it out on the worktop permanently.

Thank you for these ideas.

My cake is cooling. It took much longer than my usual wooden spoon method as I was figuring out how to lock in the various bits.
I learned not to attach the beater before the bowl is in place.

Tips about scraping down and covering with a tea cloth were very handy thank you.

JackyB

Yes, I don't know how I lived for at least 50 years without knowing that about not beating the mixture once the flour is added. The German name "Rührkuchen" should have been a clue (translates to "Stirred cake")

OK, tips for a stand mixer. Make sure you use the correct attachments (dough hooks for bread, whisks for cream.etc). You still have to scrape the sides clean during mixing to make sure everything is mixed in properly. Get a couple of good silicone spatulas for this if you don't already have one.

In my experience attachments for grating and slicing are not always very sturdy. The weak spots are the plastic parts.. Treat with care and wash by hand.

I prefer the food processor for mixing everything that doesn't need a good beating, but it isn't big enough for a decent amount of

I do use the citrus squeezer quite a bit, though, for fresh orange and grapefruit juice.

My domestic science lessons at school were very beneficial, amongst other things we were taught to just fold in the flour never beat it, our teacher was so formidable she would walk around and yell at anybody who wasn’t following her instructions. It seems to have stuck with me although it has been a while since I made a cake as DH is type 2 diabetic now.

I've got a KitchenAid and I love it. I had a white one years ago, gave it to eldest granddaughter who dropped hints! I replaced it with a fuchsia pink one that is earmarked for her sister.

Excellent for meringues of any sort from pavlovas to macarons.

I don't really use my stand mixer much now, other than for a traditional victoria sponge or anything involving meringues. I've always found it very handy to have a second bowl, as some recipes require meringue to be whipped and then folded into the main mixture.

Love mine.. I invested in a Kitchen aid few years ago and it's great. I was asked to make two weddings cakes for my chums daughter and my Neice both ended up being in August (one wedding was moved from December to August) so only 4 days apart so it was a bit stressful. Without my Kitchen aid I would have been seriously struggling.
One cake was one of these new trendy Long ones, 9 cakes in total, 3 different flavours, 3 foot long, with so much butter cream, I was permanently sticky.
The other was round so only 6 sponges... But I couldn't have done it without my mixer.
They turned out fabulous, both brides over the moon.

Enjoy it, practice until it's second nature, it's a wonderful gift.

Wow Visgirl that was a mission and a half!

I have tried to make meringues with my rotary whisk, but they have always been a bit weepy. A pavlova is high on my ‘try it out’ list.

Thanks for all the ideas.