Kenwood kMix stand mixer review: a powerful yet affordable mixer

The Kenwood kMix stand mixer is one of the classics. With a true British heritage behind it, the brand is known for its sturdy yet stylish designs and classic bold colours. The Kenwood kMix is no exception, and the brand recently came out with an extended range of colours including metallic pastels and bright pinks and greens.

As with all of the best stand mixers, the kMix comes with a flat beater, a dough hook, and a whisk attachment. It does look a little different to many market contenders thanks to the multi-tonal design and the paddle at the back of the mixer that lifts up the tilt-head. I put it to the test for a few weeks to make cake, bread, and whipped cream, to see how it held up. While it is quite hefty and not the quietest stand mixer on the market, the Kenwood kMix punches well above its weight for value for money.

Kenwood kMix KMX750

Product specs:

Size: 38.5 x 24 x 35.5cm
Power: 1000 watts
Bowl capacity: 5 litres
Speeds: Six
Colours available: Red, cream, black
Cleaning: Bowls and attachments are machine washable

What’s in the box?

The Kenwood kMix is hefty, with a weight of over 9kg. A lot of this weight comes from the glass mixing bowl, which is 5 litres in capacity and has markings along the side to make liquid measurements easier to add.

The glass bowl slots into the base and is twisted to secure. This twisting process is trickier than in a KitchenAid stand mixer because the bowl is heavier, so locking and unlocking it takes a bit of muscle.

Attachments include a flat beater with Kenwood's iconic K design, a wire whisk, and a dough hook. There is also a spatula, which feels a little flimsy but can be used to clear down the sides of the bowl.

There is a plastic splash guard, which fits onto the tilt-head as opposed to the bowl. You need to install this before adding any attachments because it won't fit over them, but it was far sturdier and more effective at preventing splashes because of this design.

The splash guard also has a decent lid, which lifts to allow you to add ingredients when cooking. I used this for adding dry ingredients to wet when making cake, and adding warm water to my dry ingredients to form a bread dough. It is much better than other splash guards I've tried at from Cuisinart and KitchenAid.

What is the Kenwood kMix like to use?

Every stand mixer review includes the same basic recipes. I make a victoria sponge cake, using the flat beater to make the batter and the whisk to make the whipped cream, and I also make a loaf of white bread, kneading for 10 minutes using the dough hook.

The Kenwood kMix has a dial on one side, and a paddle at the back to lock and unlock the tilt-head. This means you won't need to have the machine facing you to use it, which is great because many prefer to use the stand mixer side-on.

Fitting the attachments is a bit fiddly, because there are two holes on the tilt-head and you have to duck down to see which one will fit the attachment. These rotate around as the mixer works, so finding the right place to insert your attachment will be a different experience every time.

Making cake in the Kenwood kMix

Creaming together sugar and butter is the toughest task for any stand mixer. If left alone, you should return to a light and fluffy combination, noticeably different in colour and with a more aerated texture. I was able to achieve this with the Kenwood kMix, but it was not without intervention. I used to spatula to remove sugar and butter that had become stuck to the bottom of the machine, which had to be done a couple of times to achieve my desired finish.

Baking is definitely easier because of the glass bowl. I was able to see how my mix was coming along without pausing the mixing.

I used the flat beater to fold in my flour mix. As you can see, scooping the flour in through the splash guard was a little messy, but mostly successful.

The mixer has a dial that goes up to six, but you can leave it between settings for a lower speed. The lowest speed is actually quite high with the Kenwood kMix, and for folding I found it was not necessary to go up the dial whatsoever.

What I do like is the slow start, because it allows a second for the mixer to come to speed, which means your bake is less likely to splash or erupt in a cloud of flour.

Once I had added the dry ingredients I didn't need to go in with the spatula again. The spatula did a great job of integrating all my ingredients without knocking the air out of my creamed sugar and butter mix. The whisk also needed no assistance in beating my double cream into stiff peaks, and the whole process took next-to-no time. Overall, I was very happy.

Making bread in the Kenwood kMix

The Kenwood kMix is excellent at kneading bread. That 1000 watt motor really comes into its own when kneading a solid dough. It took about a minute to integrate the dry and wet ingredients, as I poured in the water while the dough hook began to mix. Once fully integrated I was able to leave it for 10 minutes, while the dough become smooth and elastic. Pillowy, even. It was fun to watch it moving around the glass bowl, but I didn't feel that I had to supervise the mixing.

When I wrote my KitchenAid Artisan review I found that the mixer's 500 watt motor struggled to knead without moving around on the counter, but I had no such trouble with the Kenwood. Apart from the head, which despite being locked into place moved up and down ever so slightly as it worked the dough, the mixer base did not move from its place on my counter, and it didn't seem over-exerted after 10 minutes of kneading.

Letting the bread rise inside the glass bowl meant I got to watch the bubbles form, which was fun. Their even distribution is a testament to how well they were kneaded, and my loaf came out looking beautiful.

The kMix makes a different noise to other mixers I've tried. It's more of a whining, mechanical sound, which can get quite loud when handling bread dough.

Cleaning the Kenwood kMix

I have a real issue with stand mixers that don't come with dishwasher-safe attachments. Whisks are a pain to hand-wash, but for some reason most of the whisks that I've tested couldn't go in the machine. The kMix whisk can. In fact, all of the attachments can, and so can the glass bowl.

Then it's just a case of wiping down the mixer itself, which was easy enough.

Should you buy the Kenwood kMix

Of all the stand mixers I've tried (which is a lot!), this is the one I would buy for myself. It's not quite as pretty as the KitchenAid, but it's a lot cheaper and has twice the power. Extras such as a glass bowl and sturdy splash guard are also included in the price, whereas you'd get a stainless steel bowl if you went for almost any other mixer on the market.

The splash guard is innovative and very effective, and while it's heavy, the owl means you can keep a knowing eye on your bakes as they mix. I also enjoyed the range of speeds, and how powerful they can be if you turn them up high. If you wanted to make a meringue, it would be perfect.

About this review, and the reviewer

Millie Fender heads up all things small appliances at Ideal Home. There’s nothing she loves more than testing out the latest and greatest cooking gadgets, for indoor and outdoor use, from toasters to air fryers. Millie lives in South London and is constantly squeezing more appliances into her modest kitchen. If it makes it onto the kitchen counters full time, you know an appliance is worth the hype.

Kenwood loaned Millie the kMix for the purposes of this review, and she got to try it out for a whole month before returning it.