My new mixer!

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:19 
As ya'll know, I have been borrowing mixers from my friends.  I borrowed the Bosch  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/08/bosch.html  which I liked, but there were several things that I did not like.  I borrowed two different Kitchen Aids, I wrote a review on one of them,  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/search/label/mixer%20review  where I showed you the difference in sizes, The wattage and sizes of the bowls and attachments did not compare to my Cuisinart.  They worked fine, but I still prefer my Cuisinart.
My Cuisinart has a seven quart bowl, 1000 watts, and a timer that turns itself off.  It also has 12 speeds to give you better control.  As you can tell from my previous post, the paddle, whisk and dough hook are also better and bigger.  This is probably the closest thing you can get to a professional model for your home. 
I got my original mixer over four years ago on Black Friday.  I did a price compare at Bed Bath and Beyond, used a coupon and got a free blender attachment all for about $280.  It was a great deal!  About two years ago I broke the spring on the mixer and would have to hold it down to get the bottom of the bowl.  This break was totally my fault though.  Then the motor quit in July.  I must admit I have used this mixer and put it through the wringer in the years I have owned it.  When I bake, it is usually for church so I always double and sometimes triple my recipes. 
I was heart broken, how could I ever afford to buy a new mixer?  I decided to sell cupcakes one week at church and Twinkies another week to raise money for my new mixer.  I paid $15 to send my broken mixer back to the company with a $10 check for return postage.  I figured I would have to wait until Black Friday and find another great deal.  I knew the Lord would provide, I just did not know how.  I never heard back from Cuisinart until today when UPS delivered me a brand new WHITE Cuisinart!  What a blessing, I like the white better!  Since I had kept all the parts when I sent the mixer back I now have two of everything, even two 7 qt bowls!  I had registered my mixer when I first got it, so make sure you always register your products.  And remember that God will always provide in some way, you just have to have patience and faith!

All I need now is some of those cool vinyls to decorate my mixer with!  I'm thinking either cupcakes or orange, yellow and green flowers to match my curtains!  LOL
Missy

Kitchen-aid Artisan Mixer

I borrowed Susan's Kitchen Aid this past weekend.  She has an Artisan series.  My two favorite things about this mixer is my color choice, I would definitely get a yellow one, and I love the splash guard.  It works better then the one on my Cuisinart.  I really didn't see anything spectacular about it to be honest.  I only made Twinkies in it.  It is only 325 watts which is not very strong.  I do like the handle on the side of the bowl.  I'll be testing out another kitchen aid this weekend, I have a baby shower cake to make, so we'll see how it does on peanut butter buttercream.

It comes with a nylon coated flat beater and a nylon coated dough hook.  Both of the hooks had the nylon coating chipping off.  I don't know about you, but I would not want that stuff in my food.  Chris saw the hook and was like "you aren't cooking with that are you?".  The mixer I borrowed does not have the nylon coating, but they do look very "oxidized" I guess is the word for it.  I took some pictures of the kitchen aid artisan (small silver), kitchen aid professional hd (white), my my Cuisinart (silver), to show you the size differences.  The hd is on the left, Cuisinart in the middle and the artisan on the right.

My bowl is the biggest and so are my beaters.  The professional has the arms to hold the bowl, which is irritating when taking out the bowl.  Neither one has the timer which is one of my favorite features on my Cuisinart.

I'm not sure how old the other mixers are, but I have had mine for 4 1/2 years and have used it a LOT, and mine look a lot better then the kitchen aids'.  I do put them in the dishwasher.  You can tell the difference in the sizes also, mine is a lot bigger which is great for when I do two to three batches at a time.  I'll give you more information about the professional after I test it out this weekend.
To sum up, the kitchen aid artisan is great for a home baker, but if you need something big with a lot of horse power, this is not it.  When baking cakes and making buttercream for church, I usually either double or triple my recipes, and this Kitchen-Aide would not be able to keep up.

I definitely need a bigger kitchen, due to lack of space my waffle maker and popcorn popper sit out on my counter with my mixer.  There was no room to work with 3 mixers sitting on it this weekend!  LOL
I am open to any comments anyone might have about their mixer.  Remember, I am in the market for a new one!  I wish I could test out a Kenmore, they are sold at Sears.  Since I do not have any information on them, it is highly doubtful I would buy one.
In my opinion,
Missy

Bosch

As many of ya'll now, my Cuisinart mixer died on me.  I have some friends though that are letting me borrow their mixers and then give you my opinions on them.   This first mixer I borrowed was a Bosch.  Bread makers everywhere love the Bosch.  I borrowed Siouxsie's universal plus Bosch.  You can get more info and buy the Bosch here:  http://www.joyfullivingforyou.com/boschuniversalpluswithoptionalslicershredder.aspx
I made Italian Meringue Buttercream in the Bosch, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised!  I used the wire whisks on the meringue.

It has two whisks (the paddles and dough hooks are the same concept with two) and the bowl is designed to fit the shape of the whisks, therefore everything does get mixed.  I think that was my favorite feature.  I do not like the fact that the machine and bowl is plastic.  But when I poured the boiling sugar, in the heat was not trapped in a metal bowl.

The big "mouth" of the bowl without "gear" or the "arm" on top also made it easier to pour in the hot sugar.  I was able to do it all one handed!  (due to my sprained hand and wrist) My 7 qt Cuisinart bowl I would have to put the bowl in the fridge for ten minutes after mixing for ten minutes to help the meringue cool down before adding the butter, however, with the plastic bowl, after ten minutes of mixing it was ready for the butter!
The meringue mixed up well in the plastic.  I also liked the wide base that suctioned itself to the counter and did not move because it was so well balanced.  You can also mix 15 pounds of dough in it.  My cupcake recipe also called for wire whisks, so I did not test out the other hook.  It did a great job though of mixing up both things and I really liked it a lot.  My friends' say it is the best thing for baking bread.  I was not able to test that out though with only one hand!  LOL  No homemade bread for me right now!
Compared to my Cuisinart these are the cons.  It only has 4 speed settings with 800 watts.  This makes it very hard to get the exact speed you want.  My Cuisinart was 12 speeds with 1,000 watts.  The Bosch also made a whiny noise on a lower speed.  It is not easy to scoop the dough or frosting without removing the whisk.  With the Cuisinart you just pull the arm up.  But the arm gets in the way when adding ingredients on the Cuisinart.  There was no timer on the Bosch.  My Cuisinart has a timer and you can set it for ten minutes and if you don't hear the beep, it stops itself.  Which is very nice.  But my Cuisinart is tall and not very well balanced and does "jump" with heavier doughs like gingerbread and does not have suctions.
I also like on the Bosch that the place for the blender attachment is on the side rather then on top.  My blender on my Cuisinart is taller then me when added to the mixer!
My husband did not like it, because he had to take the splash gaurd off for me due to my one-handed status.  He said it is not easy to get off, it was impossible to get of with one hand.  When I asked him what else he didn't like about it he said "I just didn't like it."  LOL  He's a man of few words, unlike his wife!
So my conclusion is that I like different parts of both.  Now what am I gonna do?  LOL

broken mixer

My Cuisinart 1,000 watt, 7 qt stand mixer just died.  I absolutely loved my mixer.  It had a timer for mixer which was great when the recipe says "beat for 2 minutes", I just set the timer and it would turn itself off when done, I especially used it when making my IMBC, I'd set the timer for 10 minutes then walk off and do other things while it was mixing.  I could do double and sometimes triple batches of buttercream or cake batter at the same time.  Never had any problems with it.  A couple of years ago I made gingerbread, put the dough in, set the timer and walked off.  Whoops, I did not realize how thick the dough would get and it skipped itself right off the counter.  I guess I shouldn't have left the kitchen!  LOL  The only thing broken on it was a cracked piece on top that did not affect anything and the spring action would not go all the way down on it's own anymore.  Other than that it has worked great until I got back from vacation and went to turn it on and the motor is out.  I've had it for almost 5 years, and it has a five year warranty, but I no longer have the receipt.
It is now time to get a new stand mixer.  Here is my delimna:  do I get another Cuisinart which I loved? or should I get a kitchen aid or bosch which might not be as good, but would last longer?  I have friends who will be letting me test out their mixers and I will write a review on each mixer on here to let you know my opinions.  Please keep in mind that my reviews will be based on baking.  I hope this will help you all decide which mixer is best as I test out new mixers.  I am open to any suggestions!
Missy