Stand Mixer vs Hand Mixer: Which Does a Home Baker Need?

Stand mixer or hand mixer: which one do you actually need?

For someone baking cakes and scones a few times a month, a hand mixer is enough. It creams butter and sugar for a sponge, whips cream and beats icing, then goes back in a drawer. A stand mixer earns its price and its counter space when you bake large batches, heavy doughs or long-whisked meringues often. Scones and shortbread need neither: a bowl, your fingertips and a wooden spoon do the job.

What is the difference between a stand mixer and a hand mixer?

A hand mixer is a handheld motor with two detachable beaters that you hold over any bowl you own. A stand mixer is a heavier motor mounted on a base, with its own bowl and attachments (usually a flat paddle, a whisk and a dough hook) that turn while the machine stands on the counter.

KitchenAid, which sells both, sums up the split in its own comparison: "Stand mixers are built for heavy work," while "Hand mixers are built for lighter work, and they do it well." The same page calls the hand mixer "the right tool for quick tasks, small batches, flexible bowl use" and the stand mixer the one for "heavy doughs, large batches, hands-free mixing" (KitchenAid Australia). It is a manufacturer's summary, but a fair one.

What does a hand mixer do well?

A hand mixer does the three jobs most tea-table baking asks of a machine: creaming softened butter with sugar, whipping cream, and beating buttercream. It works in whatever bowl suits the batch, so one tray of fairy cakes does not mean washing a giant bowl.

The manual for one typical model, Cuisinart's 7-speed HM-70C, lists creaming softened butter and sugar on Speed 3, whipping cream on Speed 4 with the whisk, and beating whole eggs and thin batters on Speed 5. It also says the mixer "should always be set on the lowest speed when you start mixing" (Cuisinart HM-70C instruction booklet), which applies to any hand mixer if you would rather not wear the icing sugar.

The trade-off is that you hold it the whole time. For a few minutes of creaming that is no hardship; for a long whisk of egg whites, your arm will notice.

What does a stand mixer do better?

A stand mixer has three real advantages.

• Power and capacity. Cuisinart's Precision Stand Mixer booklet lists a 500 watt motor and a 5.2L stainless steel bowl, with a maximum of 1200g of combined ingredients for bread and pizza doughs (Cuisinart SM50 booklet). The hand mixer above is rated at 220 watts.
• Your hands are free. While the paddle creams, you can weigh the flour, line the tins or get the next ingredient ready. Free hands do not mean an empty kitchen, though: the same Cuisinart booklet says "Never leave the appliance unattended while it is in operation."
• Long jobs get easier. Meringues, whisked sponges and double or triple cake batches are where a stand mixer pays its way, because the machine does the minutes of whisking you would otherwise hold.

If you bake yeasted buns or bread, the dough hook is the stand mixer's strongest argument. For a cake-and-scone baker, it is an extra, not the reason to buy.

Which tea-table bakes genuinely need a mixer?

Fewer than you might think.

Scones are made by rubbing cold butter into flour. The Great British Bake Off recipe says to "Rub the butter into the flour using just the tips of your fingers," then stir in the liquid with a round-bladed knife (The Great British Bake Off). Our own scone method works the same way, because the less a scone dough is handled, the taller it rises. A machine adds nothing here except washing up.

Shortbread only needs a brief creaming. Our 3-2-1 shortbread recipe beats the butter and sugar for 1 to 2 minutes, just until smooth, and it lists a mixing bowl and wooden spoon as equipment alongside a stand mixer with a paddle. Too much air makes shortbread spread, so a powerful machine can even work against you.

A Victoria sponge is where a mixer earns its keep. The creaming step traps the air that gives the cake its lift, and our Victoria sponge method calls for a full 3 to 5 minutes with an electric mixer, longer by hand. A hand mixer does this perfectly well.

When is a bowl and wooden spoon enough?

More often than the kitchen shops suggest. Scones, shortbread, rock cakes and most muffin-style batters need nothing more than a bowl, a spoon and a light touch.

Creaming butter and sugar by hand is possible too, but be honest with yourself about the effort. America's Test Kitchen puts it at 20 minutes by hand "compared with the mere 3-minute hands-off sprint in the mixer" (America's Test Kitchen). Properly soft butter makes it far easier. If you bake a sponge twice a year, a wooden spoon and patience is a respectable answer. If you bake one every fortnight, a hand mixer will save you a great deal of arm.

How much space does each one need?

This is the question people skip and then regret. A hand mixer is, in KitchenAid's words, "light, quick to grab, and easy to store in a drawer or cabinet." A stand mixer "is heavier and takes up more counter space" (KitchenAid Australia).

In practice, a stand mixer lives on the worktop. Cuisinart's booklet warns, "Take care when lifting this appliance as it is heavy," and a heavy machine kept in a low cupboard tends to stay there. Measure the space under your wall cupboards, including room for a tilt-head model to open, before you buy.

Which one is easier to clean?

The hand mixer, comfortably. You eject two beaters and wash them: Cuisinart's hand mixer manual says to wash them "in hot, soapy water or in a dishwasher," and to wipe the motor housing with a damp cloth, never putting it in water.

A stand mixer has more parts to deal with: the bowl, the attachment you used, often a splash guard, and the base. On the Cuisinart stand mixer, the bowl, paddle, dough hook and splash guard can go in the dishwasher, but "The chef's whisk is not dishwasher safe and should be washed by hand," and the base is wiped with a soft, damp cloth and never immersed. Check the manual for your own model, because dishwasher rules vary between brands and finishes.

How do you use either mixer safely?

Both are electrical appliances with fast-moving parts, so follow the manual for your model. The common rules across the two Cuisinart booklets are these:

• Unplug the mixer before fitting or removing beaters or attachments, and before cleaning.
• Keep hands, hair, clothing, spatulas and other utensils away from the beaters or attachments while the motor is running. To scrape the bowl, switch off first.
• Never put the motor housing or base in water or any other liquid.
• Do not use a mixer with a damaged cord or plug, or after it has been dropped or has malfunctioned; the hand mixer manual says to return it to an authorised service facility for examination instead.
• Keep the cord from hanging over the counter edge or touching hot surfaces.

Is a stand mixer worth it if you bake a few times a month?

For most bakers at that pace, not yet. A stand mixer is worth it when one of these is true:

• you regularly bake double batches or several cakes at once
• meringues or whisked sponges are a regular part of your baking
• you make yeasted buns or bread often
• you have a stretch of counter where it can live permanently
• holding a mixer for several minutes is uncomfortable for your hands or wrists, in which case hands-free mixing is a genuine practical gain, not a luxury

If none of those apply, the stand mixer will mostly cream butter, which a hand mixer already does well.

Why buy the cheaper option first?

Because a hand mixer tells you what you actually bake. Use it for six months. If you find yourself making meringues every weekend, doubling every recipe or wishing for a free hand while the batter beats, you will know a stand mixer is worth the money and the space, and which features matter to you. If it mostly comes out for the Victoria sponge and the odd bowl of cream, you have saved yourself a large purchase and a permanent lodger on the worktop.

Nor does a hand mixer become redundant if you upgrade later: it stays useful for small jobs like a bowl of cream or a batch of icing. For working out which tea-table bakes to start with, our afternoon tea bakes guide is a good place to begin.

Sources

• KitchenAid Australia: Stand mixer vs hand mixer
• Cuisinart Power Advantage 7-Speed Hand Mixer HM-70C instruction booklet
• Cuisinart Precision Stand Mixer SM50U/BU instruction booklet
• America's Test Kitchen: Creaming butter and sugar without a mixer
• The Great British Bake Off: Scones