This week I was asked to review the kenwood K mix km52. To say I was excited is an understatement! As you all know, I'm a bit of a baker, whether it be with the Mstr J or on my own, I love a bit of time in the kitchen creating delights!
The price :-
The km52 retails at roughly £400, but you can find it online for about £280.
The arrival:-
Delivered by courier it came in a huge box! Wow! When you open it up, you realise its well packed to protect your mixer.
Inside the box:-
When you open it up first you'll see your spatula, a little spanner for adjusting the mixer if necessary & a folder of info. Inside the folder are some recipe cards, about half a dozen. I guess it depends what kind of baker you are. I thought these were for some quite fancy bakes. If you like that sort of thing, or want to try one out, they're great. I might try the focaccia. I think some people might like some simple sponge recipes etc. I guess the way they probably see it, is that if you're going to spend this much on a mixer, you're likely to be an avid baker & know how to make a simple sponge!! So no need to include it.
The next level below this was your attachments. The large whisk (very large), the K mixer & the dough hook. There is also something I found super handy and thought was a great attachment, a clear 'lid'. You put it on top of the bowl, to keep things from splattering out at you. It has a handy little flap so you can add ingredients while saving yourself from splatters!
Below this is the main act, the mixer itself! It weighs a ton! I found lifting it out of the box fun! But it definitely feels sturdy! This is something you buy to last, & it definitely feels like it will do just that! It has a huge 5 litre stainless steel bowl, plenty big enough for most people.
My Usage :-
Cupcakes :-
First, and an obvious choice for me, I decided to make some cupcakes. As there was no recipe card to try out, I went with my own chocolate cupcake recipe. It would also give me a good way of comparing what they normally come out like for me.
Setting up the mixer was very easy, the whisk was a simple 'insert & twist' to lock into place.
First I had to cream the butter & sugar. I found the whisk only moved around the centre of the bowl. I didn't feel like the edges were getting included, so had to keep stopping it to wipe the sides into the middle. This wasn't easy to do, as the large whisk made it difficult to get in there & get to the mixture.
I found adding the eggs difficult, I normally just break them into the bowl & mix, but you have limited space to get anything into the bowl. I even ended up dropping an egg in by accident while trying to squeeze my hands in to break it in. I would probably of been best breaking the eggs into a jug & pouring in, but this isn't how I normally do it, so was something I found difficult. It did make mixing very easy, no hand work, or for me, electric hand whisk holding, just turn the nob & watch it whisk away!
When it was done, the mixture looked amazing. Much thicker than it usually goes. To get the bowl out, you have to raise the top of the mixer, then turn & lift bowl. I found that the whisk was so big, I had to tilt the bowl to get it out from under it. Which was fine with the small amount of mixture I had, but could be a problem with more. Later my husband suggested a good idea, that you could unattached the whisk into the mix so you can remove bowl easily, then just lift whisk out of bowl. This would definitely make it easier.
The bake - The cakes come out perfectly flat on top, why can I never normally do that!! My husband & I both noticed a difference in the consistency. My cake normally come out quite soft & aerated. But this made for a more dense bake. This type of cake would be good for making larger cakes when baking a cake you want to stack etc. It would definitely hold the weight more. But none the less, my recipe didn't fail & they tasted amazing.
Bread :-
I decided again to try a recipe I have done before. A good old loaf. When I've done it myself by hand, I've struggled kneading it for so long, so I hoped the mixer would do the job for me. I attached the dough hook. Initially the mixture seemed to do what I found with the cakes, and sat around the sides. But I ignored it for a bit & it soon came together. I followed the rest of the recipe & left to proof over night. Baked in the morning the loaf was good. But as before, when I have made it myself, it made quite a stodgy bread that would be good for soups, but not sandwiches. This must be the recipe.
I would definitely use the mixer again for bread as it made light work of kneading the dough for me.
Large cake :-
I decided to try 1 last bake for a birthday cake I was making. Again I used my usual recipe, but in much larger quantities. This time, I found things much easier. As I knew where I stood & how to work around/with the machine. It made light work of a huge bowl of mixture. I even used it to make my buttercream, using the splatter guard to keep me clean from the usual icing dust cloud you get, great!!!
And as expected, the denser cake made for a great sturdy birthday cake. People loved it!
Overall facts -
The huge bowl means you have plenty of space for the largest of mixtures.
The easy to clean ability of the whole thing is superb! The bowl literally wiped clean every time! No scrubbing, nothing. The whisk & dough hook both wiped clean easy as anything too.
You need to get used to a different way of doing things, if you don't already pour ingredients in etc.
You can buy many attachments to add to your mixer to make it a multipurpose piece of kitchen equipment! Amazing!
Would I buy :-
Hmmmm, this is a tough one. The machine, once you get used to things, is amazing! It makes light work of anything! And if you're someone who bakes for a living, or a lot, you would love it. I currently use a electric hand whisk, and I get by. Of course this would be great to own. But for me, who doesn't bake often enough, the price is just too much. But if anyone is looking for something for me for Christmas ;o)
Last words :- if you bake for a living, or very often, this is definitely for you, an awesome piece of kit that comes in numerous colours to match any living space! Even stripped!! It's built to last. You will not be disappointed, or tired after you've used the K MIX KM52!!!
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