What cake mixers do you recommend for a beginner baker?

Some cakes are made from scratch, with careful attention paid to measuring and sifting each ingredient to its perfect mixture, amount and consistency. Other cakes are created from easy to make boxed cake mixes, found in grocery stores, departments stores and even most convenience store, with the ingredients pre-assembled and requiring only the simple addition of eggs, oil and water. Regardless of the method of preparing the ingredients, one of the most important processes in making a delicious, light and perfect rising cake is in the mixing. Too little mixing will result in lumpy cake batter. Lumps of flour may wind up in several bites of the cake. Too much mixing may fill the batter with unnecessary air, causing bubbles and flaws in the cake while baking. So what's a baker to do to ensure the perfectly beaten cake batter?

Jennifer Bartos is the owner and operator of the All in One Bake Shop. An expert in baking supplies, she swears by Kitchen Aid mixers. Realizing the high cost that often accompanies such an appliance, she is willing to make a few concessions.

"A Kitchen Aid mixer is really nice," Bartos says, "but I don't think it's really necessary for a beginner baker."

Instead she recommends the purchase of an easy to use appliance that can be purchased in most department stores and even some dollar stores for a very few dollars,often way less than $10.

"A simple, handheld mixer works fine for almost anything,especially cake batters," she explains.

Following recipe directions for a homemade cake batter or package directions for a cake mix is, however, quite necessary. Many cooks have wondered why boxed mixes list the number of minutes and speeds on which a mixer should be used to blend some cake batters. Each cake has a specific texture in order to turn out correctly. Some are meant to be light and fluffy. Angel food cake and light chocolate cakes are served best this way. Others are dense with far more consistency, like dark chocolate, devil's food or spice cakes. The cake's texture is typically determined in part by following the instructions for mixing the cake batter.

While Bartos advocates the use of fancier and more expansive blenders for some heavier batters like cookies or nut based bars or squares, she dispels the myth of needed to invest in such an extravagant appliance for most cakes,whether homemade or from a packaged mix. Her best advice for those not certain about what they should buy or how much they should shell out on a small appliance like a cake mixer is a concept that borders on being elementary.

"Rely on elbow grease," she says. After all, it was in use very successfully long before the invention of any electrical appliances like cake mixers. And have you noticed,those directions on boxed cake mixes include instructions for beating the batter both with an innovative electric mixer,and with that masterful and powerful natural invention of all time,the human hand?