Mixer Recommendations For Mum

My Dad died two years ago and Mum has had no interest in anything since . that was until the other day, she said she would like to start baking for the family. She doesn't have a mixer because my Dad was a diabetic so she very rarely did any baking. I would like to buy her a mixer and sadly I can't afford the top of the range so would love to hear your recommendations. Thanks in advance:-)

I think something mid range like a sunbeam cafe series planetary mixer, I found to be adequate and made many a great cake. Can be worked hard, has a timer on it which is fantastic and the usual attachments. I have also had a breville scraper mixer but of the two I preferred the sunbeam. I now have a kenwood which I am slowly getting used to. Some others may also have some recommendations but those are the ones I owned and had no issues with them :). both great for getting back into it. How wonderful she is having some interest again.

I cannot recommend anything but often Briscoes has great specials (50% sometimes) on excellent, medium priced, mixers. It is simply a matter of watching the sales, which they have every week.

My suggestion is go with yOur mum shopping. Not a cop out, but does she have bench space to keep the mixer on, or will it live in a cupboard?

If she is moving it from bench to cupboard, weight and size could be an issue.

I love my Kitchenaid, but it is heavy to lift (I get sick of DH commenting how heavy it is, so make sure I have always put it away before he goes to do dishes).

And I am glad your mum has thought of something to make her happy :)

You could get a good one second hand - Kenwoods last forever and often come up for sale.

I like my Sunbeam Mixmaster because it can be a stand mixer or hand mixer and not too heavy.

Thank you for your replies. Mum and I went shopping for a mixer and I bought her a Brabantia . it is 1000w and not too heavy so now we are waiting on a sultana cake:-)

. and I have a sultana cake recipe which only uses a pot and a spoon to mix. haha. Sorry, it's in imperial weights.

Sultana cake

12 oz sultanas
12 oz butter
8 oz sugar
1 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp almond essence
3 eggs
12 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
Grease and line a 8-9 inch square tin. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
Put sultanas in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, boil for 5 minutes, then drain. Add butter and sugar, and leave for butter to melt and cool to lukewarm. Stir in essences and eggs, then flour and baking powder. Mix thoroughly with a spoon then pour into prepared tin and bake until a skewer inseted into the centre comes out clean (45 - 60 minutes).
Cool in the tin and leave til the next day before cutting.
I sometimes add cherries and other fruit. The mix seems to be able to support up to about twice the fruit weight. I have a friend who adds drained crushed pineapple.
I've doubled the mix and baked it in a roasting dish. and I've been making it for 50 years, after begging the recipe from my darling mother-in-law, so it is well-proven.