Hi guys... this seems strange... long time no speak. I am going to be honest and say I for sure have not been in the right head space to knuckle down and write a blog post. I do not want to focus on the negative so we are going to dive straight in with what today's post is about. I am going to be discussing my recent Kenwood Mixer purchase! I am going to be including the reasons why I decided to buy one, how it came about and what I think about it after using it a few times. I really wanted to discuss this to help anyone else out who is maybe thinking about buying one for similar reasons as me.
I hope you all have been good and well during my absence, and I hope you enjoy my baking ramble :)
The why
This purchase came around because for most of my life due to my medical condition, I have never been able to fully bake by myself. This is because I have weak muscles and things like creaming and beating mixtures, I could never do without some help. I never really thought much about it as it was the norm for me. Fast forward to now, I am 24 and started thinking how a mixer could really give me that independence. It may sound stupid, but now I am thinking about the future and if I live alone, I need to have the ability to bake alone because I really enjoy it! The moment when I properly decided was when I was baking with my friend and the cookie mixture needed beating and I had to have my mum assist. We got on to the conversation where it would be nice if there was a way I could do this myself. That was what sparked the idea and we hunted online for a couple of days to see what deals we could find.
I wasn't overjoyed at first because of the price of these mixers and thought is it really worth it? Will I get enough use out of it to justify the cost? That was when mother scoured online and found one that was almost half price! I am all about them deals. It was a well known make: Kenwood. I looked into the mixer and read the reviews to see what people had to say about it. They were all around positive but I took a few days to think about it. Me and mother both are keen bakers and it would not just be for me, yes it would aid me to bake alone, but it would also be for her to use too. We decided to go in on the purchase together and the Kenwood was on its way! The Mixer I purchased was the Kenwood kMix Stand Mixer : Kenwood Mixer.
My first thoughts and the arrival
So, here is the mixer itself: It took about 3-4 days to arrive which I was satisfied with. I opened it all in the kitchen and set it up. I did use the instructions! I normally do not, but with a big purchase like this I thought I had better. It now has its place in the kitchen and I loved the look of it. I have included the pictures below of the mixer and all of the attachments if your interested in seeing it properly, as I think it is nice to see what someone is talking about.
My first thoughts were the base is of course very heavy and I could not lift that by myself. That did dampen my excitement because I thought well what is the point in that? However, after thinking about it, as long as it is in an accessible place, I can use it to its full capacity because the bowl and the rest of the attachments are easy to use. Everything else was fine, I was just ready to give it a go.
The mixer came with: a glass bowl, a plastic spatula, the K-Beater tool, the Whisk Tool, the Dough Tool and a splashguard.
Pros and Cons - my first few uses
My first bake of choice was Nutella cookies. I have really been in to Nutella recently so I thought I would give them ago myself. The second bake I did was wholemeal rolls and my third was a pancake mix. All of these recipes required different attachments so I feel I can talk about my first experience with each one.
Nutella Cookies
For these I used the K-Beater primarily but I did try the other two as well. I discovered the whisk was not the one and my whole mix got stuck in it and I did have a small mare. Thinking back, why on earth did I use a whisk for a cookie mixture..... I did try the dough tool for a final mix for the cookies and surprisingly, I liked how it pulled the mixture all together so there's a little tip for ya. The K-Beater was easy to use and once I got the hang of stopping, scraping the mixture off and continuing, I was happy. This the recipe I used: Nutella Cookies. They turned out very delish and we kept them in the fridge and cooked a few when we wanted them. I was so excited about this first bake, I completely forgot to take any pictures... but you can imagine the gooey goodness!:D
Wholemeal Rolls
I used the dough tool for the kneading part and I have to say it done a good job. I have never been able to knead so was interesting to see how it would perform. When we first mixed the dough, we had to ensure we occasionally stopped to scrap the sides; this is normal when using a mixer as I have read this online. Once we did that and the dough was combined, it did an average job of kneading it. I started on a low speed and gradually increased. We discovered when they were cooked, they were quite doughy so to solve this I think increasing the speed of mixing and putting it on for a smidge longer would do the job. In regards to the taste, the flavour was good and they were very yummy. The recipe was a normal bread one but we then tore the dough to make around 8 rolls. The flour itself was only wholemeal flour and not bread flour. This probably was the main issue with the rolls and not the mixer itself, so I might see if I can find wholemeal bread flour for next time.
Pancake
This was where I felt slightly let down. The whisk to me seemed quite big but I suppose for the size of the bowl, it matches. However, it did not mix my pancake mixture at all. The only part it did was the top and there was clumps of flour still in the bottom. There was also egg shells which is totally my fault..... I think cracking it into a separate bowl first is the right thing to do! I usually am a pro so I will just blame the egg. This slightly annoyed me because it did not do its job but it isn't something that necessarily needs to be done in the mixer due the fact it just requires whisking. However, to me that was not the point, I was expecting a nice runny mix and it does defeat the purpose of the mixer.
After reading the booklet part on that tool, it does say you can adjust the height of the whisk which I think must be the solution. The whisk is not low enough in the bowl so maybe that is why it did not reach the bottom. Or maybe the mix was too little? I will play around with it and give you an update soon. If it is simply the height, I will be chuffed as this is the only negative side of the Kenwood I have discovered so far :) No picture for the pancake as it did not go to plan, and the recipe used was 4 ounces of plain flour, half a pint of milk and 1 egg.
Pros-
In the instruction booklet, it talks through the different attachments and why and how you should use them.
It is very good in the way I do not have to do any hand mixing which saves my arms and wrists from intense aches.
It produces very smooth mixtures which I could not do by hand.
It enables me to bake independently.
It is very easy to set up and use.
Cons-
I feel like they do not include the best attachments with the Kenwood. The creaming beater which is not included, looks like one of their best for baking after I did some research. The K-Beater does its job but it is not the most amazing mixing tool.
The bowl is very large and I feel you sometimes have to have a lot of batter for some of the attachments to work properly.
The mixer head itself is very heavy so I have to ensure it is in the right place before use.
The attachments are expensive.
Was it worth it for me?
This is a very simple answer for me: yes. It encourages and gives me to the ability to bake without any issues, which is the main reason for its purchase. I am hoping once I adjust the tools, this will remove the fact it does not mix the bottom of the bowl, and through mixing will occur. It is very accessible, the bowl and tools slot in and remove without any problems. It has done its sole job and has proved to me that it was worth the expense. I look forward to future bakes and my next post to come will cover me baking a cake and some muffins. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with similar issues to me in regards to baking and the strength that is needed to do it. I also feel the key for me is making sure the mixer is on a high enough speed to beat mixtures properly, as I found at the beginning of using it I was hesitant in doing this.
That brings me to the end of my post. I have only just touched the surface with the mixer with my first three bakes and only more use will really give me my final answer on if it was worth buying. Right now, I can see myself only loving it more and more as I make different recipes with it! Thanks for sticking around to see what I have been up to and I hope I inspired you to do some baking. Tune in next time when I will be discussing some more intense bakes.... will adjusting the height of the tools remove the mixing problem I am having?? Find out next time hehe
Stay safe, Lucy xoxoxox
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