378640 Wed Mar 07 19:06:34 -0800 2007 17 31 Home Cooking 0 2363966 I never invested in a good stand mixer, since I don't do much baking (understatement!), and also have no room to store it, or put it on my counter. Can anyone share recipes for your favorite simple to make, but yummy baked goods that can be easily prepared using a hand mixer, or mixing spoon? If you do, please be sure to give guidelines about what mixing speeds to use for the various steps. I find that many recipes don't necessarily give this information, and I want to get it right. Thanks so much! Wed Mar 07 19:06:34 -0800 2007 15126 Bzdhkap 1 2363989 Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but this Sour Cream Coffee Cake is very easy and delicious. It's always a hit when I make it. I use a hand mixer. Don't exactly know what speed I use, but probably something in the "medium" range. It's really very easy to make this. Sour Cream Coffee Cake Batter ¼ Cup Butter (unsalted) 1 Cup Sugar ½ pint Sour Cream (1 cup) – you can use low-fat if desired 2 Eggs 1 Tsp. Vanilla ¼ Tsp. Salt 2 Cups Flour 1 Tsp. Baking Powder 1 Tsp. Baking Soda Filling ¾ Cup Chopped Walnuts 2 Tsp. Cinnamon ¼ Cup Sugar ¾ Cup Chocolate Chips (semi-sweet) Preheat over to 350. Cream butter. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add alternately with the sour cream blending well. Pour half the batter into a well-greased baking pan (9 inch square, round or even a bundt pan). Combine filling ingredients. Sprinkle half of mixture over batter in pan. Top with remaining batter and then sprinkle with remaining filling mixture. Slightly press chocolate chips and nuts down so that they stay on the cake when it is baked. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick – it might need a little more time in the oven (like 10 or 15 minutes). Wed Mar 07 19:13:14 -0800 2007 2363966 10205 valerie 1 2364074 Thanks Valerie. It sounds delicious. Sorry to be a pest, but when you say that you probably use a medium speed, do you mean that you use the same speed in all of the steps - from the creaming, to adding in the wet and dry ingredients? Thanks again! Wed Mar 07 19:47:48 -0800 2007 2363966 15126 Bzdhkap 2 2364786 Certainly you are not a pest -- that's what the board is for! As Chowser said below, I use medium for creaming the butter and sugar, and then slow it down for the eggs and especially for the flour. If the speed is too fast when you add the flour, it often flies out of the bowl and makes a big mess. That's why it's also good to add a little of the flour mixture at a time rather than all at once. My mixer has 7 speeds and I guess I don't really go over 4. Really, the above recipe is very easy and if you decide to make it, you will quickly figure out what works for you. Thu Mar 08 06:53:44 -0800 2007 2364074 10205 valerie 1 2364158 You do not need a stand mixer to make brownies. The recipe on the box of Baker's unsweetened chocolate is easy. It's a one-bowl method that calls for mixing with a spoon. My favorite brownie recipe is Maida Heatter's "All American Brownies." It uses one pot and a spoon to mix the ingredients. 1 stick of sweet butter, cut into pieces 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs - large or extra-large 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour Pinch of salt 1/2 cup walnuts, broken into pieces (optional) Adjust oven rack 1/3 up from oven bottom, then pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8" square cake pan by lining the inside with a piece of foil. Then, with a pastry brush, brush melted butter on the bottom and sides of the foil. Place the stick of butter and the chocolate in a heavy saucepan over *very* low heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool for about 3 minutes. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until smooth after each is added. Add flour and salt, mixing until smooth. If using walnuts, mix them in. Pour batter into pan and smooth out. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out barely clean but not dry. Do not overbake! After pan is removed from oven, allow it to stand until it reaches room temperature. Then, place a rack on top, invert the pan, lift it off and remove the foil. Then, using another rack, flip the cake right-side up. Place cake on a cutting board and with a sharp knife, cut the cake into 16 squares. It may make it easier to chill the cake before cutting. Wrap brownies individually or place them all on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. In either case, you don't want to let them dry out. They can be frozen and then served either directly from the freezer or defrosted to room temperature. (Note: I've written the recipe in my own words in order to avoid copyright infringement.) Wed Mar 07 20:22:20 -0800 2007 2363966 13867 RGR 1 2364528 I bake often and don't have a stand mixer. Generally, for creaming the sugar and butter, I use a medium speed, then for adding the eggs, I'll use slow, as well as adding the flour. Sometimes when adding the flour (for quick breads, muffins, some cakes, mostly), I use a spatula and gently fold it into the sugar/egg/butter mixture. For brownies and Cooks Illustrated thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies, I just use a wooden spoon since you're using melted butter. I make bread, pasta without a stand mixer and do it by hand. It's on my list of things to buy but I don't let it stop me. It's just a little more time consuming. Thu Mar 08 03:45:13 -0800 2007 2363966 39874 chowser 1 2364560 I only bake bread, no pastry. I use an ordinary table fork and a mixing bowl to prepare the dough. I like to get my hands on the dough once it is at a stage for the dough to be kneaded. Kneading dough is therapeutic. Thu Mar 08 04:34:43 -0800 2007 2363966 11977 ChiliDude 1 2364641 I personally think you can bake anything you want to without a stand mixer- some things are just a little easier with one. I bake a lot and I didn't have a mixer until a few years ago. Thu Mar 08 05:49:33 -0800 2007 2363966 12813 Katie Nell 2 2364951 I have been a food writer for over 20 years and only got a stand mixer about 5 years ago. Of course I feel like an idiot for not getting one sooner, but I really don't think not having one stopped me baking anything I wanted to bake. As Katie Nell says, some things are just easier with one - but anything is possible. Thu Mar 08 07:42:38 -0800 2007 2364641 12383 Nyleve 3 2368589 BTW, my wife has a beautiful KitchenAid mixer on the kitchen counter. I look at as a big paperweight. Fri Mar 09 05:19:07 -0800 2007 2364951 11977 ChiliDude 1 2364784 I also do a lot of baking and do not have a stand mixer. In general, I find that you can make pretty much anything with a hand mixer - although if the recipe says to beat for more than 5 minutes straight I generally try to find a different one since I get tired of holding the hand mixer for longer than that. I follow the speeds indicated in the recipe and do not worry if it says to use a paddle or whisk attachment. The only big advice I would have for using a hand mixer is to move the mixer around the bowl while mixing and to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Thu Mar 08 06:51:49 -0800 2007 2363966 27702 LauraB 1 2365198 I do have a stand mixer but there are somethings like muffins that are better combined by hand to avoid over mixing. I made Dorie Greenspan's Citrus Berry Muffims (p.3) from Baking From My Home to Yours Sunday they were moist, fluffy and delicious. Just needed a whisk and a lg. rubber scraper. Thu Mar 08 08:42:18 -0800 2007 2363966 10285 Candy 1 2365479 That's exactly what I was thinking -- there are all manner of quickbreads that can be made with a bowl and a wooden spoon and minimal stirring. Thu Mar 08 09:48:28 -0800 2007 2363966 21620 Dizzied 1 2365573 I love Nigella Lawson's chocolate gingerbread, and it's hand stir only. Recipe is at the link. http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=361 Thu Mar 08 10:06:58 -0800 2007 2363966 10669 Amuse Bouches 1 2365598 I don't own a stand mixer or a hand mixer, and I've never had any problem making cakes, cookies, brownies, quick breads, etc. Some things you have to mix/beat/stir some more by hand, but I don't generally find it a problem. Actually, to tell the truth I don't have measuring spoons, either, and when I was growing up, my mother didn't have measuring cups ("What?! A cup is a cup!"). For some reason I have things like waffle irons and madeleine pans, though... Thu Mar 08 10:10:19 -0800 2007 2363966 26708 sidwich 1 2365935 I agree with the quick bread suggestions. Banana, zucchini, pumpkin, cornbread all fall into this category. I just use a whisk or wooden spoon and my arm for these. Muffins are also subject to hand blending. I only had a hand mixer for years and would only use it for things like frosting or meringue where my arm would fall off it I tried to hand blend. Now that I have a kitchenaid I have gotten lazy, but still don't use it for some items. Thu Mar 08 11:13:58 -0800 2007 2363966 16602 lisaf 1 2365977 The Barefoot Contessa outrageous brownies are outageously good (make sure you use instant coffee and not regular coffee grounds). The recipe is currently up on the foodtv site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26055,00.html?rsrc=search Thu Mar 08 11:22:15 -0800 2007 2363966 75002 Megiac 1 2365981 I don't have a stand mixer and I bake a lot!!!! Having a stand mixer means that a). it continues to mix while you 'slowly add ingredients' and b). that you can work in other parts of the kitchen while it's mixing. In other words, it's a REALLY GOOD multitasking tool. Without it, I just stop the mixing, add the next egg, start the mixer, mix, stop the mixer, add the next egg. . . In other words, I agree with KatieNell, LauraB et al that you can get by just fine. Thanks Valerie for the recipe. Looks good! Thu Mar 08 11:23:28 -0800 2007 2363966 67902 Food Smith