I’ve always been a baking fan. When I was a child, I'd help my mom bake every Sunday morning, making fruit pies and sweet treats for the week ahead. With a family of six, there were a lot of mouths to feed.
I can still picture my mom’s Kenwood Chef with its retro design, which saw her through many years of baking for a large family. Forty years on, my love of baking is still strong, and I’ve been fortunate enough to turn my hobby into part of my work.
Being a homes writer at Tom's Guide means I get to test a whole stack of appliances, including stand mixers, and I get a really good feel for how each one performs. Currently, KitchenAid’s Artisan stand mixer is the best stand mixer we recommend at Tom’s Guide, and until recently, I really didn’t think anything else would come near.
But since testing and reviewing KitchenAid’s newest release, the KitchenAid Artisan Plus, I'm even more impressed. And it’s the reason why I gave it my first-ever 5-star review. Here's what I love about the new features the Artisan Plus offers.
Putting the spotlight on your baking — it’s not just for show
The most impressive new feature is the light that illuminates the bowl. It may not seem like much, especially if you are working in a light-filled room, but to me it really made a difference.
Although I knew the stand mixer had this feature, when I turned it on it made me go ‘Wow’. And I instantly liked how it lit up the ingredients to allow you see more clearly what’s happening with your mix.
It’s not just showbiz, it has a functionality that improves your baking.
So smooth — it purrs
With the KitchenAid Artisan you get 10 speeds, but the Plus version offers an extra ½ speed. That’s 11 speeds in total, with the option to switch the control for finer tuning. The classic presets include the ½ speed and 1 to 10, while precision control gives you the flexibility to choose from the 11 settings and every speed in between.
The ½ speed is a real bonus if you're mixing light ingredients that instantly puff out of the bowl, such as powdered sugar, which from my experience is the worst culprit and a nuisance to clear up.
Even if you are using the pouring shield, light ingredients have a tendency to misbehave, so having the ½ speed reduces this issue. Even if you tend to use your mixer for bread, rather than for cake icings, you probably appreciate the benefit just as much.
Four accessories (you'll love the double-edge flex beater)
What’s so great about the accessories is that you get four. But aside from the dough hook, wire whisk and flat beater, the flex-edge beater is double-edged. I’ve already purchased the single- flex-edge beater for my KitchenAid Artisan, and it does a grand job of clearing the mixture from the edges of the bowl, but the Plus version is double-edged, doing the work with half the effort.
What’s more, it’s much heavier and takes a curvaceous design with a slight twist. When I placed the two accessories on my kitchen scale, the KitchenAid Plus double-edge flex beater weighed in at 281g, while the single flex-edge beater weighed just under half the weight at 139g. I assume the weight and ergonomic curve of the heftier beater powers through the mixture, taking less time to do the same job.
The pouring shield is more stable
It’s not a big change, but the pouring shield has been redesigned with added grips. This makes it less likely to move on the bowl, as it can be secured in place. Surprisingly, it’s not something that is highlighted in the new product details, but I found it made a significant difference when using the appliance. Instead of often knocking the pouring shield when I’m adding in ingredients, it stays firmly in place.
In the old days, I remember placing a tea towel over my mom’s Kenwood stand mixer to stop the ingredients from flying over the side, so having a clear pouring shield really does help, as you can still see what's going on in the bowl.
No more messy cables
Again just like the pouring shield, the design is in the details, and it's these extra features that add up to make a difference with this stand mixer. I always get into a tangle with cables, especially if I am moving an appliance about and storing it in a cupboard when it’s not in use.
However, the Artisan Plus comes with a tidy cable; what’s more, it’s already attached to the power cable, so you won’t lose it when it's in transit.
Which stand mixer will I be using?
I’ve already swapped my KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer over to the Artisan Plus model, although the standard version is still an excellent appliance that I have no doubt in recommending.
However, if you do have $100 extra to spend, and will be using a stand mixer for more than the occasional birthday cake, I’d opt for the newest model.
