A Rather Marvellous Mixer

We’ve made friends with Christopher Reid, a copywriter and lover of all things food up in Durban. His two passions meet and make magic on his lifestyle blog Still life with a wooden spoon.

Chris recently became the proud owner of an empire red KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer and sent us his thoughts.

“I am the first to admit that I’m a bit of a luddite in the kitchen. So, when it comes to mixers, the last thing I want is a shiny silver number with an LED screen, endorsed by a celebrity chef. I want permanence, and a sense of serious hardware. I want something that looks like it could’ve been shlepped around the British Empire by a somewhat flustered colonel’s wife in order to always produce the perfect Victoria sponge for tropical soirées. I want the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer.

With its lovely, retro aesthetic, and a rather fetching enamel finish, the Artisan sits on a countertop like it means business. Its three attachments – whisk, mixer and dough hook – pretty much cover any mixing-related needs, and the splash guard that can be slipped over the bowl is quite a nice addition to the set. All in all, this is definitely an appliance to impress.

I broke Lady Penelope – as the Empire red beauty was christened – in with a batch of macarons. These, as a seasoned baker will know, require one to beat up egg whites perfectly in creating a base for this confection. The Artisan rose to the challenge beautifully, and left me with pillowy mounds of meringue, with no threat of deflation.

This gooey goodness is then combined with ground almonds, cocoa and sugar to make these divine little treats, which are then sandwiched together with a lovely chocolate ganache.

Penelope was also put to the test with a batch of pizza dough – something that I love to make, but loathe to knead. With the Artisan’s dough hook, however, this is all made much easier. You simply put the dry ingredients into the bowl, and add the wet ingredients with the mixer running on a low speed. Much simpler than messing around with various bits and pieces and dirtying a countertop. And the best part is, whether by design or chance, that the bowl is just big enough to make and prove one batch of pizza dough perfectly, so there’s no need to dirty another bowl. Marvelous.

So, if you are tempted to make the macrons, here’s the recipe. It is a bit of a challenge, and they are rather tempermental, but it is definitely worth the effort. In terms of hardware though, which is after all the focus here, I rate the KitchenAid as the mixer of champions. It is everything you expect, and more, and I am sure that Penelope and I will be spending much time together in the kitchen. How delightful.”

We reckon it’s the start of a beautiful relationship. Thanks for the review, Chris.