My stand mixer threw a gear during a wedding cake, I was actually relieved

The $800 KitchenAid gave out at 6 AM last Saturday, two tiers into a 5 tier cake for a bride in Portland. I grabbed my grandma's hand mixer from 1974 and finished the whole thing, took an extra hour but the crumb was better. Anyone else secretly glad when fancy gear fails so you can fall back on the old stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

black.patricia12d ago

...my friend Denise had basically the same thing happen but with a bread machine, not a mixer. She was making 12 loaves for a church fundraiser and the timer broke at 2 AM, dough was a sticky mess. She dragged out her great-aunt's old metal bread bowl and just kneaded by hand for an hour, said it was the best bread she'd ever made, people were asking for her recipe. She still keeps that bread machine on the counter just to look at it, but she never turns it on anymore.

james_davis1612d ago

exactly @black.patricia, that hand kneading thing is real. I had my big fancy mixer die on me during a batch of croissants last spring, and I just pulled out this old wooden spoon my dad used for everything. Took forever to mix that dough by hand, but the layers came out so flaky and light, my neighbor thought I went to pastry school. I honestly think the machine gets the job done, but it rushes things. When you gotta do it slow, you pay attention more and the food turns out better. I still keep the fancy mixer on my counter for looks too, but I only bust it out for big batches now.