Dec 20, 2023 9:00 AM

The Best Stand Mixers for Cakes, Cookies, and All the Carbs

Tasty bakes are easy to make with the help of the latest statement stand mixers—as are homemade pretzels, wholesome pasta, and artisan breads.

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Closeup of batter being mixed in a stand mixer

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The secret to making fluffy sponges, perfectly peaked meringues, and house-warming loaves is in the equipment you use. Mixing, kneading, and whisking by hand may feel wholesome, but why bother when you can get a stand mixer to do the hard work for you? Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a total novice, stand mixers are not only convenient and easy to use, but also look great on the kitchen countertop.

Otherwise known as a food mixer or kitchen machine, stand mixers can be found in various shapes, sizes, and colorways to suit your setup. With stylish finishes and statement hues to choose from, it’s an appliance you’ll want to keep on display to tempt you to get baking when the opportunity arises. But as many of the best stand mixers are an investment buy, it’s worth thinking about your priorities to find a model to best suit your kitchen requirements—and your sweet tooth. We’ve put them through their paces (while stuffing ourselves with cake) to rate the latest models on performance, versatility, and design.

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Photograph: Catherine McQueen
Consider This When Buying a Stand Mixer
Versatile attachments: On top of the standard mixing, kneading, and whisking tools, some mixers offer attachments that can be bought separately. These include extra attachments for tasks such as shaving ice, rolling pasta sheets, grinding meat, citrus juicing, shredding, and slicing.
Speed settings: These vary from model to model, but a stand mixer with a good variable speed range means you can launch gently to combine liquids and lighter ingredients and dial up the speed for thicker mixes when needed.
Useful extras: Most designs come with a spatula in the kit that is useful for scraping out ingredients left in the bowl, while a recipe booklet is always a bonus to push you out of your cooking comfort zone. Some stand mixers also come with a splash guard that works well to make sure flour or liquids stay in the bowl and don’t spill out onto your countertop when you start mixing.
Storage: Larger than a kettle or toaster, stand mixers can be rather cumbersome. It’s a good idea to house it on the worktop if you have the space, so you can plug in and start it up easily when needed. But also consider storage space for all the extras such as a secondary bowl and attachments.
Photograph: KitchenAid
Best All-Rounder
KitchenAid Artisan Hibiscus Stand Mixer
An Italian marble countertop or high-end smart oven may create a talking point in your kitchen, but to really make a statement, nothing beats a colorful die-cast metal KitchenAid Stand Mixer. With its original planetary action and curvy body, this iconic small appliance has been turning heads since it was first launched in 1937. And the KitchenAid continues to produce excellent results for baking and prepping meals. It looks especially well finished in 2023 Color of the Year, hibiscus—which is inspired by the flower’s verdant fuchsia hue and matches the equally beautiful Hibiscus K400 Blender.
This is a knock-out design that I enjoyed using. I found that the Mixer’s lever lifted the tilt head smoothly so I could change attachments. With speed settings on one side and the lever on the other, I did find myself having to lean around the model to lift it when needed. The KitchenAid’s attachments fix on easily, but you will need to learn the knack of lifting and turning to the left to take them off the beater pin. Inside the box, you get four attachments in total, including a dough hook for proofing bread and a wire whip that’s great for meringue peaks and cream. There’s also a pastry beater that is good at breaking down stiff butter, and a flex edge beater that manages to get right up to the sides of the bowl so no cake mixture is left behind. A spatula and a splash guard that fixes in place on the top of the two bowls—5 quarts (4.8 liters) and 3 quarts (2.8 liters)—complete the spec.
The beauty of this timeless design is that it feels built to last. I also like that you can add to its functionality with extra attachments such as a metal food grinder for mincing meat, an ice shaver, a pasta roller, and a spice and citrus grinder. Plus unlike some designs I’ve tried in the past that can wobble like a train carriage at high speed, the KitchenAid Stand Mixer sits firmly and safely on the countertop.
$370 at KitchenAid
$500 at Williams Sonoma

Photograph: Kenwood
Runner-Up
Kenwood kMix [UK Only]
Dull countertops will instantly be lifted with the Kenwood kMix Stand Mixer’s special-edition metallic finishes. There are four metallic finishes to choose from, including this glamorous Rose Gold edition that instantly caught my magpie eye. It’s the ultimate attention seeker in the kitchen and has the goods to back up its looks.
The kMix has beautifully rounded corners, ergonomic controls, and well-built, stainless steel accessories including a stainless steel K-beater for cakes and everyday baking tasks that scoops up ingredients nicely from the sides of the bowl. There’s also a whisk for meringues and cream and a dough tool for breads and pizza bases. These fit on effortlessly and are easy to wash after use with a splash of warm tap water and a little dish soap.
The mixer’s 1000W motor is powerful but the mixer has feet that stay firmly put when in use. There’s a smooth control dial that’s well positioned on the front of the mixer that provides the incremental power to start mixing slowly and ramp up the speed when desired—this meant I didn’t get clouds of flour puffing up in my face when baking, although there is also a splash guard included in the box. It doesn’t have clips that secure it firmly to the bowl like the KitchenAid mixer, but it does sit neatly on top. The kMix is often pitted against the KitchenAid stand mixer in terms of performance and you’ll often discover that bakers are either Team KitchenAid or Team Kenwood. In this test, the KitchenAid just pips it, but I am always reassured that Kenwood also has a rich history of making good-quality kitchenware that is built to last.
Photograph: Cuisinart
Excellent Variable Control
Cuisinart Precision Master 5.5 Quart
I’ve tried a selection of Cuisinart small appliances over the years, including blenders, food processors, and grinders, and I’m always left impressed at how aesthetically pleasing and well-built the products are. In terms of timeless, well-realized design, the Precision Stand Mixer does not cut corners. With a powerful 500W motor, there’s a lot to admire here. It comes with a generous 12-speed control dial that allows you to get precise tempos for your ingredient—be it at a slow and steady 3 for when you’re adding flour to your cake mixture, or at a fast and effective 12 for whipping cream or eggs.
You get three accessories in the box including a chef’s whisk, dough hook, and flat mixing paddle, as well as a splash guard with a pour spout that sits just above the bowl and makes sure ingredients pour in neatly. There’s a good mix of color options available here that adorn the body’s die-cast metal construction, including statement black or white and a glossy red. Similarly to KitchenAid, you can buy accessories to add on, including a pasta roller and cutter, pasta extruder, meat grinder, and more, which makes it a versatile appliance to add to your kitchen repertoire.
$250 at Amazon
$192 at Best Buy
$250 at Cuisinart

Photograph: Aucma
Great-Value Design
Aucma Stand Mixer
It may not look as carefully designed as some of the better-known stand mixer brands out there, but I think this Aucma appliance is excellent value and thoughtfully made. It has lots of useful design features, such as the splash guard that fixes conveniently to the tilt head instead of sitting atop the bowl. I found that having it there meant that it didn’t get in the way when I went to lift the head to check the ingredients in the bowl. With six speeds and a pulse function, it doesn’t have as many settings as, say, the Cuisinart or KitchenAid models, but the Aucma’s 1400W pure copper motor did provide impressive power for ramping up the speed in a matter of seconds.
The lever and speed controls of the Aucma Mixer are positioned near each other, which I found useful as it makes the whole thing easier to control once you’re stuck into baking. The speed dial also lights up, which adds a nice touch. There are three attachments here including a whisk, beater, and dough hook to cover all your basic baking needs. It comes with a 6.2-liter bowl and a 5-liter bowl that fit a lot of mixtures and make it useful for batch baking or catering to large households. With two handles it’s easy to lift the bowl too. Nicely done.
~~$160~~ $150 at Amazon
Photograph: Smeg
Easy on the Eyes
Smeg 50's Retro Stand Mixer
Complete with Smeg’s signature retro styling, this Stand Mixer comes in multiple color finishes, including an attractive Pastel Blue finish (shown). Like the majority of stand mixers I’ve tried, it comes with a wire whisk, flat beater, and dough hook that covers all the basics, and I found these easy to take on and off. Like the KitchenAid, there’s also a front port for adding optional attachments, including a pasta cutter, ice cream maker, and meat grinder. The tilt-arm model provides planetary beating and whisking action and up to 10 variable speeds. But these settings are positioned at the top of the machine (as opposed to the side), which I found convenient to access.
The design of this Smeg is well balanced with a 4.8-liter bowl that sits neatly in the base, and I found setting number 7, in particular, a steady speed for combining ingredients. Its 800W direct drive motor is powerful and great for loose mixtures, but when I tried mixing dough on a fast 10-speed setting, the appliance shook a little too much for my liking. After this, I was careful not to ramp up the speed too much when mixing stiff ingredients such as hard butter and dough. I found that the flat beater did very well to mix ingredients for a fluffy vanilla sponge on setting number 8 in a matter of minutes, so I steered toward using this for cake, cake, and more cake.
$540 at Amazon

Emily Peck is a journalist with 20-plus years of experience writing about interiors, food, well-being, gardens, technology, and everything in between. She has held in-house positions at the BBC and Ideal Home magazine, and regularly contributes to WIRED, GQ, The Telegraph, Livingetc, Techradar and GoodtoKnow.

WIRED contributor

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