It is the busiest time of the year, so the last thing I need is equipment failure but it has happened … again!!

I use an electric hand whisk to make all my cakes and icings. I didn’t have storage space for a KitchenAid or big mixer and found the hand whisk easy to clean and store. First, I had a couple of Kenwood mixers which lasted about 9 months but then wore out – the motor gave up!

When I had to buy another in April this year, I found the model I was using was no longer made. So I opted for another Kenwood. Mistake. After just a couple of months, the beaters broke. I found I could use the beaters from my old mixers with the new model so carried on like that for a couple of months. But then those old beaters also broke so I contacted Kenwood. Unfortunately, the old model was not available anywhere, but they agreed to replace the latest broken mixer. This arrived in September and was fine for a couple of months but then the beaters broke again! I was left with two mixers which worked but no beaters.

I bought another new mixer about a month ago, this time a Russell Hobbs model – bad decision. It supposedly has 5 speeds but they all seem to be the same. The slowest speed sends dry ingredients flying everywhere! Last Friday, I was finishing the icings for two batches of cupcakes and the mixer started making awful noises. The holding for one of the beaters had disappeared into the body and it can’t be repaired.

So this year, I have had three mixers fail miserably! I’m now waiting for another to be delivered so I can get on with the next batch of cakes. It couldn’t have happened at a worst time! 😫