8 best electric hand mixers that whizz up a storm in the kitchen

The Dualit does its job brilliantly without making a song and dance about it. It would be an exaggeration to say we hardly knew it was on but it was the quietest in operation of all the mixers we tested. It was one of the most comfortable to use too, with the well-designed handle making it easy to grip and keep control. Although there are only four speed settings, there was more than enough variation to handle all the food prep tasks we needed it to, and we didn’t miss a pulse function. We loved the gleaming chrome finish (it’s also available in a cream ‘canvas’ finish) and the clever retractable power cord, which can be wound into the body of the mixer by twisting the base.

Although dough hooks are included, the mixer isn’t suitable for kneading bread and the hooks are designed to be used for initial mixing of dough and pastry ingredients. But it aced the egg-white test, getting to stiff-peak stage in about a minute. If you want a mid-priced mixer without too many bells and whistles, but that still delivers in all the important departments, the Dualit is an excellent choice.

If you want to be free to mix wherever you want, this good-looking cordless model is the solution. Once charged up by USB (a full charge takes a little more than two hours), there’s enough power for about 20 minutes of continuous use, more than enough for a baker’s dozen of food prep tasks.

The operation couldn’t be simpler – one button turns the mixer on and off and another selects the five different speeds and one set of beaters that handles everything from whisking up egg whites (to stiff-peak stage in a very respectable 70 seconds) to making a cake mix.

As the mixer is cordless, we could easily and safely use it to beat a souffle base in a pan on the hob. Although this wasn’t the fastest or most powerful mixer we tested, the cordless operation was a real plus point and we couldn’t fault this quiet, compact and easy-to-store mixer for everyday cooking requirements.

From the Art Deco styling through to the smart grey fabric attachment bag, this hand mixer exudes Smeg’s signature upmarket style. But the great design is not just skin deep. The nine speeds, selected via a three-button control panel, allowed for precise control during the mixing process, so we could start slowly softening cold butter – so it didn’t fly out of the bowl – and gradually increase the speed as we added sugar and flour for a shortbread dough.

We loved the digital display that showed the selected speed and the time, so we could easily monitor how long we’d been mixing for and avoid overworking ingredients. The mixer automatically switched off after four minutes and 59 seconds, ensuring the motor wouldn’t overheat.

It might look like a show pony (the mixer is available in seven colours, including a fetching pastel green) but the Smeg turned out to be a workhorse. With the dough hooks attached, it did a fine job with a batch of pizza dough. With the twin whisks in place, it took about one minute to whisk egg whites to stiff-peak stage, and even at its highest speed setting was noticeably quieter than some other mixers we tested. Smeg style never comes cheap, but given it goes hand in hand with commendable performance, it’s worth the extra outlay.

This low-cost yet stylish hand mixer is accurately named “desire” as there’s lots to love about it. The elegant black and chrome design belies the affordable price point and, as one of the lightest mixers we tested, it was particularly easy to use – especially with the very comfortable enclosed handle.

With the whisks in place, we whipped up egg whites to stiff peaks in about one minute. The mixer made short work of creaming butter and sugar, completing the task in just six minutes when we used fridge-cold butter. Despite the included dough hooks, the mixer is not suitable for kneading bread dough and is intended just for the initial mixing of ingredients.

On the downside, the mixer’s slowest speed is still quite fast, which meant some of our butter and sugar escaped the bowl when we first started to mix them, but things soon settled down. The mixer was one of the noisier models we tested but, for the price, we really couldn’t complain. The desire is an entry-level mixer that will please the most experienced home cook or baker.

With its unassuming utilitarian white design, this compact and lightweight hand mixer is the sort of thing you’d probably find in your mother’s kitchen drawer. It may not have stood out from the crowd in our tests but it kept up with the pace, whisking egg whites to stiff-peak stage in just under a minute and dealing well with ginger-nut dough that included fridge-cold butter. It didn’t make a racket, even at its top speed, and was comfortable to hold.

The accessories include dough hooks and the manufacturer claims the mixer is suitable for kneading yeasted dough. However, we’d play it safe and stick to less-strenuous whisking and mixing tasks for cakes, muffins and biscuits, to avoid the risk of burning out the motor. The Bosch hand mixer won’t turn heads but, for the money, it’s ideal for casual cooks and occasional bakers.

The Gastroback may not win any beauty contests but its functional stainless steel and black plastic design mirrors its practical functionality and versatility. It’s light, compact, relatively quiet and comfortable to use.

Using the whisk attachment at the top speed setting, we beat egg whites to stiff-peak stage in just under a minute and used the flat beaters to cream sugar with butter straight from the fridge in about nine minutes. Although dough hooks are included, the mixer is not suitable for mixing bread but worked well when it came to mixing oat-cookie dough.

Setting this mixer apart, however, are the additional accessories that turn the hand mixer into a mini chopper and hand blender (including a tall plastic blending container). The chopper made short work of some parsley, which we then added to a mayonnaise mix that was quickly whipped up using the blender attachment. It’s worth noting that the chopper attachment does what it says on the tin and is not a food processor, so you can’t add any liquids. It is, however, perfect for things such as herbs, garlic and shallots – you’ll need to cut larger vegetables into pieces before using the chopping function, and the attachment is not suitable for nuts, seeds or chocolate.

We were impressed overall with the Gastroback, and the additional functionality it offers for a price lower than some of the other premium mixers we reviewed makes it a very attractive proposition.

KitchenAid’s instantly recognisable design style is present and correct in this efficient and comfortable-to-use hand mixer that’s available in black and red. Using the balloon whisk attachment at the highest speed setting, it took only 50 seconds to reach stiff-peak stage and it made a glossy, fluffy meringue mix in minutes.

The mixer’s motor is blissfully quiet in operation, and the rubber-tipped “flat edge” beaters also cut down on noise in the bowl. They also made short work of creaming butter and sugar for a Victoria sponge – incorporating the eggs and flour was also effortless.

We loved the cleverly designed storage clip that fits over the attachment apertures on the underside of the mixer, which enabled us to easily store the mixer and attachments together – no hunting for a whisk when you need macarons in a hurry.

As the manufacturer points out, the mixer isn’t designed to knead bread dough, so it’s not a substitute for a KitchenAid stand mixer but it is a useful and desirable piece of kitchen equipment.

Home bakers have to thank the brave Breville staffer who walked into a product design meeting and suggested combining a hand mixer with a hairdryer. It sounds positively batty, but it works an absolute treat. Pressing the heatsoft button blows warm air into the mixing bowl, which enabled us to cream fridge-cold butter and sugar in less than two minutes – the fastest time of all the mixers we tested. You wouldn’t, of course, use it to dry your hair but it’s a genuinely useful innovation, even if it does make an already noisy mixer a little bit louder. The mixer impressed even when we weren’t using the heatsoft function – whisking egg whites to stiff-peak stage in just 45 seconds.

A little chunkier than other mixers we tested, it wasn’t the most comfortable to use but that wasn’t a huge issue, and the included storage container that holds the attachments (although dough hooks are included, the mixer is not suitable for kneading bread dough), as well as the mixer unit, meant it was one of the easiest to store, despite its slightly larger size.

Although we were amused at first by what appeared to be a gimmick, our tests convinced us that the Breville heatsoft deserves to be taken seriously.