Building on the success of the company’s first mixer, the SMF01, the Smeg SMF02 is a refined version. As we’ve come to expect from Smeg, the SMF02 is gorgeous with its 50s design and choice of colours, and it blends in seamlessly with other products in the range. Dare we say it, but the SMF02 is even more attractive than the KitchenAid Artisan. This is a particularly mess-conscious machine, with a slow-start function to each of its 10 speed settings that ensures you don’t end up looking like a floury snowman the minute you switch it on.

Bosch Serie 4 MUM59340GB 3.9 Litre 1000W Stand Mixer

Switching to the hook, which has a handy guard fitting at the top to keep dough out of the outlet, I added warm milk and sugar, and used speed 1 to combine it before moving up to speed 3 to knead. The dough wrapped itself around the hook but could easily be removed. After five minutes, it was pliable and doubled in size when left to rise. The finished buns were light and fluffy. Want more? On the front, an attachment hub can power optional accessories, such as meat grinders, pasta rollers and cutters, so its capabilities are easily expanded. All of this means that you need space to place all of your accessories, but that’s not always a bad problem to have. How big does your stand mixer need to be? Size is important as you need to find somewhere to store your new mixer, and the largest models can be huge, requiring a lot of cupboard space. Base your decision not only on your kitchen size but on how often you use your mixer, and how many you’re baking for. Traditional stand mixers will have a bowl around 5-litres in size, which lets you make big cakes and cope with larger dishes. This size is great for regular users. If you’re cooking smaller amounts or for fewer people, you can probably get buy with a smaller mixer, with a bowl around 3-litres in size. Think of a stand mixer, and the KitchenAid Artisan 4.8L Stand Mixer will probably be the model that pops into your head. There’s a good reason for this: as well as being gorgeous and available in a huge range of colours, this mixer is also one of the best. Although other mixers may have higher-power motors, the 300W motor here is excellent for speed and efficiency, whisking, whipping and kneading stealthily and silently.Mixer type: Stand mixer | Size: 350 x 220 x 390, 11.17kg | Controls: 10 speeds | Motor power: 300W | Accessories included: 4.8-litre bowl, whisk, flat beater, dough hook The Pros:

Bosch CreationLine Serie 4 MUM5XW10GB 3.9 Litre 1000W Stand Bosch CreationLine Serie 4 MUM5XW10GB 3.9 Litre 1000W Stand

In short, the majority of your food prep is covered by this one machine, and there’s even a storage bag for the tools. Wow. Bosch MUM59340GB Kitchen Machine Stand Mixer – Design and features The 800W motor is controlled via the power control on top, although our minor complaint here is that this is a little hard to read clearly. In the box, you get the three common tools: paddle, whisk and dough hook. We found that the SMF02 did well with dough and cake mixture, but the whisk didn’t quite get to the sides for all mixtures and needed a bit of scraping down and, for some recipes, a little more liquid to be added. While it offers plenty of features, its primary role as a stand mixer hasn’t been overlooked. Each tool – beating whisk, kneading hook with dough deflector, flexi-stirring whisk – slots in at an angle, allowing it to mix with a planetary motion around the tall bowl. The bowl itself has enough capacity for up to 2kg of dough, and includes a plastic splashguard that slides into place. Other notable features include a cord that rewinds automatically, and overheating protection. Bosch MUM59340GB Kitchen Machine Stand Mixer – What is it like to use?Having a pouring shield is a big advantage, too – although you’ll probably find it hard to miss that cavernous 4.8-litre mixing bowl. Part stand mixer, part multi-functional kitchen machine – if the Transformers did small appliances they’d look like this. The Bosch MUM59340GB Kitchen Machine is equipped with a three-zone moveable arm, seven mixing speeds and all the attachments and functions you’d expect from a premium price mixer – but without the premium price. Placing egg whites and sugar into the bowl, I used the whisk again on level 7 for six minutes to whip them to a glossy consistency, until the mixture was so firm that it gathered within the body of the tool. I then folded it into the chocolate mixture. The fondant lost some volume in this second stage, but once baked it was crisp on top and soft in the middle. Professional patisserie set: high-quality whisk, stirrer and kneading hook for perfect baking results.

Bosch MUM59340GB Kitchen Machine Stand Mixer Review

More compact than the average stand mixer, the Kitchen Machine’s curves are no less sinuous but its design details extend beyond good looks. It’s easy to set up but weighing 7.5kg and at 282 x 280 x 271 mm, may be slightly bulky for smaller worktops or those with low-hanging cabinetry. There’s a 3-litre bowl provided with this mixer, which is good enough for your average cake and smaller amounts of liquid and eggs. It’s a nice deep bowl, too, which is great for handheld mixers. Cleverly, the bowl rotates in use to give even mixing; stand mixers have orbitary mixer heads that move around the bowl.Sometimes a hand mixer is an easier way to whip up ingredients, so why not have a tool that can do the job of both a hand and stand mixer? That’s where the excellent little Kenwood by Mary Berry Special Edition Hand Mixer HM680CR comes in. Do you need a glass bowl or steel bowl? Glass bowls look great and help you see the mixture more clearly as you use the mixer. However, glass bowls don’t tend to be as good when it comes to whipping eggs. A steel bowl is generally hardier, and gives you better results when mixing eggs, although you have to peer over the top of the bowl to see what’s going on. In the box, you get beaters and dough hooks, but no whisk. You can use the beaters for whisking egg whites and cream, although this takes longer than using a regular whisk. Mixing dough and cake mixture was easier, although you may need to scrape the side of the bowl down to combine everything. Mixer type: Stand mixer | Size: 402 x 221 x 378mm, 9.5kg | Controls: 10 speeds | Motor power: 800W | Accessories included: 4.8-litre bowl, whisk, flat beater, dough hook The Pros: