Bundie and Cake? A KitchenAid 7 Speed Hand Mixer Review.


In the fine tradition that this blog has of answering the big questions, today’s post asks and answers a question that I’m sure has kept you up in the early hours…..
Do I really need both a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer and 7 Speed Hand Mixer in Empire Red?
I reckon yes. And a bottle of Bundaberg rum wouldn’t go astray either. Curious? Then read on…..

I think it’s fair to say that quite a few of my previous kitchen appliance reviews have been hampered by a wide array of technical issues. From not being able to get lids to work to macarons that ended up looking like whoopie pies (at least I was in the ball park of trendy small cakes for that particular project), you can rest assured that if I say something works for me, it goes without saying that it will do the same for you. Well, the moment has finally arrived. Today, I’m reviewing the KitchenAid 7 Speed Hand Mixer on behalf of Kitchenware Direct. Currently, the unit retails for $99 on their site. And guess what? Today’s review is 100% drama free.

Out of the box:
  • Easy to follow instruction manual
  • Hand mixer unit with lockable, swivelling power cord
  • Double turbo beater attachments
  • Single attachment liquid blender rod
  • Drawstring fabric bag for the attachments.
First impressions

As you would expect from KitchenAid, the stainless steel attachments and the mixer unit all had a very solid feel to them.

 

The mixer is plastic rather than the steel of the brand’s stand mixers. The control panel features soft touch buttons.
At the base is the main power switch.

The attachments clip in easily into their designated slots and clip out when the release button is pressed.

Sorry I only got half the bottle of Bundie in the photo. It would have been handy for a size reference for the KitchenAids.

There is quite a significant size difference between the stand and hand mixers, as you can see from this very casually styled photo. The trade off for the much smaller amount of bench top space that the hand mixer occupies is that it’s not suitable for the heavy duty mixing required for making things like bread doughs.

The test
At last, the real reason for all my Bundie references becomes clear. I decided to test out the hand mixer using this recipe for Rum Cake.

Say goodbye to sore necks and losing your way when trying to follow a recipe!

To enhance efficiency and accuracy in executing the recipe, I stuck a copy of it to a cupboard door with some BluTak. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? It makes reading the recipe so much easier.

There are times in your life where baking a cake nearly from scratch will just have to do. With one eye and hand on Baby SSG pretty much all day (and night), I’m definitely an active member of the doctored cake mix school of baking. The advantages of this kind of recipe are that pretty much all the fiddly ingredient measuring is done for you and that your cake is pretty much guaranteed to rise. It’s just a few minutes work to pour out cup measurements of the liquid ingredients and to crack a few eggs and voila! A cake to bake materialises in front of you.
The digital speed display is easy to read. Controlling the speed is simply a matter of pressing the up or donjon arrow buttons.
Mixing the batter with the KitchenAid hand mixer was a breeze. It was easy to see how ell the batter was combining as I went. There was no mess, the batter did not explode out of the bowl during mixing (I started at a low speed) and the handset was so light, I could have stood there all day beating my batter. And the best bit? Cleaning up really was a breeze. The beater attachments clipped out easily, and all I had to do was a quick wash in the sink under running water.
Overall impression
  • A two thumbs up, must have in the kitchen. Even if you do have a stand mixer, it’s very handy to have a small hand mixer for quick mixing tasks.
  • The unit was very easy to assemble, use and clean.
  • It’s lightweight and compact so you don’t need to find bench space for it. It easily fits into a drawer or on a shelf. Which is enough to justify buying it, really.
  • Though powerful, the hand mixer barely bakes a noise.
  • The only negatives I can think of is that it may not work as your one mixing appliance if you need a mixer capable of making dough or pasta. It could also get messy with the beaters if you were needing to add things to what’s being mixed as you went. The stand mixers have a clear advantage in both these areas.
But what about the cake, I hear you ask? Did that metric cup of Bundie go to a good cause?
Indeed it did. The baking cake filled the chilly morning air with the warm scent of rum. My cake rose perfectly.


The rum butter glaze bubbled temptingly on the stove. Wouldn’t a bowl of it make a great dessert fondue? Hold that thought, I might just have to make it happen the winter.

I poured half the gaze over the warm cake while it was still in the pan. Poking holes into the cake helps with the absorption if the glaze.
Then, the make or break depanning moment….. And wouldn’t you know it? The great gods of non stick Bundt tins (aka Anolon) were watching out for me. The cake came out in one golden crusted ring of rum scented perfection.
Taste wise, there was just enough rum from both the glaze and the cake without it being overpowering. The texture was very smooth and this makes a soft cake. It does have the giveaway ‘processed’ feel of having its origins in a box of cake mix and a bag of instant pudding but for the amount of effort required, I can’t complain. It’s a handy, from the pantry kind of recipe to have on hand when a cake is urgently needed from you. You could even freestyle it with a different liquor if you wanted.

The KitchenAid 7 Speed Hand Mixer used in this review was kindly provided by Kitchenware Direct. I thank them for their ongoing support of this blog.


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