Being asked to review a Kenwood KMX Stand Mixer is right up my street. I do a lot of cooking, and baking is really never far from my mind. A good baking session means that feeding my kids home-made goodies is better than the sweets and crisps that they would tend to eat otherwise.
I’ve been using an old Kenwood Food Processor for a few years and managed to somehow crack the bowl over Christmas. I suspect it took a tumble onto our tiled floors, but after so much use, I really couldn’t complain. I had found the bowl size too small for us and very rarely used it for anything other than the mixing functions. I will keep my old mixer to use the grinder and the blender, but the kMix Stand Mixer is a welcome addition to my kitchen appliances.
I waited for it with the patience of a not very patient puppy dog, and it was unpacked and on my counter within minutes of its arrival.
It’s fairly heavy, so it will stay on my counter top from here on in. I was quite surprised by the size of the bowl as it is so much bigger than my old processor. I was pleasantly surprised to also see a splashguard that fits like a glove, as well as a handy spatula for scraping out the very last remnants from the bowl.
I was looking forward to the kneading, mixing, whisking and blending, and I was not disappointed.
Putting on the attachments is a breeze. I didn’t expect the easy of the glide in, twist and secure. There’s no messing around with this top-notch machine. When I turned it on, it gradually hummed into life, really getting into gear in a refined and controlled way. It reminded me of a quality car with a gentle purr as it begins to crank up the speed.
The classy guard ensures there is no horrible flour spinning around the kitchen if the machine is just a little too keen to get going, and it stays clean as a whistle on the outside.
Stylish.
I chose the retro black version as it matches in perfectly with my black worktops and my microwave, which you can’t see as it is just out of shot. With the round lines, it looks great and I have been really pleased with it for the short time I’ve had it.
Here’s what I really like about it so far.
- Cakes, meringues and marshmallows are a breeze. I never thought I would say that about meringue…
- Slow start of speed means the ingredients stay where they should be. That is always a good point.
- The motor stops if you open the machine by mistake. It’s a great safety feature.
- I didn’t realise at first, but the machine has a fold function to help with adding ingredients at the end of the meringue whipping stage 🙂
- The attachments are sturdy. Very sturdy. They can be slightly altered with the included spanner to get the height perfect for your machine.
- There are four attachments with the machine, as well as a splashguard and spatula. There is a beater, a whisk, a dough hook and a flexible beater to get to the edges of the bowl for soft ingredients. The flexible beater even has its own instruction book.
- It will rub fat into flour and save you the time of doing it by hand.
- The bowl is really easy to clean.
- I can put all the attachments into the dishwasher without worrying.
Peach Pavlova Recipe
If you’ve ever wanted to make a really fast and reasonably stable pavlova, this is the recipe for you. The vinegar and cornflour added helps to stabilise the egg and make the foam just that little bit stronger. I don’t find that it affects the taste of the meringue at all.
I thought I had messed up this recipe by adding the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence just into the mixing bowl at the end. The recipe called for folding it in. Thankfully, it all worked out and the meringue was lovely.
I took a recipe that came with my Kenwood kMix for pavlova with exotic fruits, and adapted it to make my pavlova.
Pavlova with Peaches – Basic Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 Egg Whites
- 250 g Caster Sugar
- Half teaspoon Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 2 teaspoons Cornflour
- 450 ml Double Cream For Whipping
- PeachesSliced from Fresh or Tinned
Instructions
- Put the oven on to approximately 130 C or Gas 1 - 2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Separate the egg yolk from the egg whites and put them into a mixer bowl. Whisk them for a few minutes until they form stiff peaks.
- Add the sugar slowly, about 50g at a time and whisk again for a few minutes each time, until the sugar is all added.
- Add the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence and continue to mix for up to 8 minutes, until the mix is smooth and glossy.
- Spoon your mix onto the baking paper and put in the oven for at least an hour, and up to an hour and a half. Leave the meringue to cool down.
- When the meringue is cool, whisk your cream and spread it over the top of the meringue, before topping with the fruit of your choice.
Argos have large ranges of Kenwood products available here.
