Cake mixer. Kenwood or Kitchen Aid?

I need a new mixer.What would you buy!My 50 year old Kenwood needs to be upgraded.

Kitchenaid all the way!

Kitchenaid.I love,love.love mine!

I'd buy a Kenwood from Amazon UK and take advantage of the drop in price when shipping to a non-EU address. You just need to switch the UK plug for a Kiwi one when it arrives at this end. It's far cheaper than buying locally.

I had a kenwood for maybe 40 years and the old boy went out last xmas to buy me a present and bought me a kitchenaide - to be honest I was a bit pipped as I wanted a new Kenwood my friend just bought a new one and I was very envious - BUT it is fantastic it certainly is the better machine

I have the Consumer magazine (July 2012) where they rate and recommend Benchtop mixers. Here's what they have to say:

BREVILLE - The Scraper Mixer Pro BEM800 - $739
Overall 89%
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and mixing dough. Labelling shows what the different speeds are for. Bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe. Splashguard included. Comes with a scraper-beater. Digital timer. Internal cord storage.
BUT:
When kneading dough the top of the mixer jolts and the unit moves on the bench.Cleaning the stainless-steel exterior and bowl requires extra attention.

KENWOOD - Chef Classic KM330 - $630
Overall 88%
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and mixing dough. Attachments can be raised or loweredwith an adjustmen tool. White exterior and light-weight bowlare easy to clean. Bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe. Splashguard included. Comes with a scraper-beater. Comparatively light weight.
BUT:
When kneading dough the top of the mixer joltsand the unit moves slightly on the bench.
Comment: Extra accessories can be bought separately.

KITCHENAID - Platinum Collection Stand Mixer KSM156ACAO - $1100
Overall: 87%
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and kneading dough. When kneading dough the mixer stays firm on the bench and jolts only slightly. The height of the attachments can be adjusted. Bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe. Comes with a scraper-beater
BUT:
Comparatively heavy. Car needs to be taken when cleaning the glass bowl - it's heavy and can be awkward to clean in a domestic sink. No splashguard supplied. The motor head is very heavy and isn't spring loaded (so you need to hold the head when lifting and lowering). Lever control can be stiff to operate.
Comment: Extra accessories can be bought separately.

BREVILLE - The Scraper Mixer BEM410R - $420
Overall: 87%
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and kneading dough. Labelling shows what the different speeds are for. Bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe. Comes with a scraper-beater.
BUT:
When kneading dough the top of the mixer jolts and the unit moves on the bench. No splashguard supplied.

KENWOOD - Titanium Major KM020 - $1500
Overall: 86%
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and kneading dough. Attachments can be lowered or raised with an adjustment. Bowl and attachments (except the wire whisk) are dishwasher safe. Splashguard included. Comes with a scraper-beater. Internal cord storage.
BUT:
When kneading doughthe top of the mixer jolts and the unit moves slightly on the bench. Cleaning the stainless-steel exterior and bowl requires extra attention. Bowl is large and might be awkward to clean in a domestic sink. Bowl can be awkward to turn and remove after mixing. Comparatively heavy.
Comment: Extra accessories can be bought separately.

* Worth Considering:
SUNBEAM - Cafe Series MIXMASTER MX9200 $649
Good Points:
Excellent results for beating egg whites, mixing cake batter and kneading dough. Bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe. Splashguard included. Comes with a scraper-beater. Has "slow start" (the mixing speed gradually increases) to prevent ingredients splashing out of the bowl. Digital timer.
BUT:
When kneading dough the top of the mixer jolts and the unit moves slightly on the bench. Cleaning the stainless steel exterior and bowl requires extra attention. Bowl has an uncomfortable handle and can be awkward to remove after mixing.

My kitchenaide is the Artisan model - much cheaper than the one that is reviewed - a splash guard is included and the the head thing is spring loaded - I must have a larger sink than normal as I have no problem washing the bowl - this review is comparing apples with oranges in my view - its a pity the review doesnt cover the model that most people buy which is in the $600 range

Maybe the model you are referring to is quite an old model - either that or it doesn't rate very high so they didn't bother mentioning it!

I have a Kenwood from amazon.uk (purchased whilst living there so free shipping, and just shipped it back to NZ with all our other stuff) was only 130 quid - same model here was $800! Love it

No its the current model - it is just the domestic Artisan model KSM150 - there is a fancy Model with a thingee on the side for lowering and raising the bowl which must be the one that is rated think the motor is bigger - I wasnt critising your post merely saying dont write off the kitchenaide with the price as shown in the review as there is a current model much cheaper - lovely range of colours -anyway I love mine and I did have to apologise to the old boy my initial sceptisism

I have a Magimix 5200 food processor, a Bamix (hand held blender) and a handheld beater.but not a bench top mixer, however I would like to get one one of these days which is why I was interested in what Consumer had to say about various models.

The Kitchenaid seems to be the only one that doesn't jolt while the dough is kneading - something that I think would annoy me, so I will probably invest in a Kitchenaid at some stage.

Carlos - as long as I stick to a one loaf mix its OK but made the mistake of trying to do bigger mix than recommended and it hopped around - but it does the bread dough beautifully if you stick to the instructions - I had a look on You tube at the demonstration clips and hers was moving - I am thinking of getting the icecream maker attachment - but then I walked past the mirror!

I mix up bread dough in my elderly Kenwood all the time and it has never 'jumped'.

I think gerry64 was inferring that if you had a large quantity of bread dough, then it was prone to moving around - but if you use a one-loaf mix it's okay.

LOL! Know the feeling! After watching Masterchef - Australia and All stars I was contemplating buying an ice-cream churner.looking in the mirror.I don't think so! Mind you there are recipes out there for making ice-cream without a churn (or ice-cream maker); the freezer seems to do the job okay.

Never had a kitchenaid - but love my kenwood.
However all NEW kenwoods (since about 2 years) are not repairable now - they are made in China by the way - meaning if they break down you need to buy whole "replacement units" rather than being able to unscrew the machine and replace single bits. Very expensive.

yep carlos thats right does one loaf fine

If your mixer is jumping around add 1 or 2 more Tbsp of water. I do this if my bread maker is grunting, sometimes the flour takes up more water than others.

Hi am thinking about a new mixer too and I am trying to make up my mine on which one as the kenwood has a 1500 watt motor compared to the kitchenaid which has a 300watt and is it quite to operate!Is thekitchenaidmixer expensive to repair!I have always liked the kitchenaids and one of the electrical stores has both the Kenwood is normally 1500 and down to 1200 with a mincer,slicer,shredder and guard as well thrown in and it is nearly a 7 litre bowl as opposed to the kitchenaid which is much smaller.I use my mixer nearly every week sometimes each day so I would really appreciate some feedback cheers