My stand mixer gave out during a big cake order yesterday

I was halfway through a 5-tier wedding cake batch and the motor just seized up. Had to finish creaming 8 pounds of butter by hand with a wooden spoon. Anyone else had a mixer die at the worst possible time?

2 comments

2 Comments

max8083d ago

not to be that person but 8 pounds of butter for a 5 tier cake sounds way off. standard wedding cake recipes call for about 1 to 1.5 pounds of butter per tier depending on how rich you go. so you're looking at maybe 6 pounds max for a big one. unless this was some kind of super dense poundcake situation. either way that motor didn't stand a chance if you were pushing it on a warm day with that much fat. pro tip for next time check the duty cycle on your mixer. kitchenaids are great but they're not continuous duty machines.

anderson.spencer3d ago

Hold on @max808, I gotta push back a little here. 8 pounds of butter for a wedding cake isn't THAT wild if you're doing something like a southern style poundcake base or stacked tiers with a ton of filling. Plus some folks go heavy on the buttercream between layers which adds up quick. My point is you don't know the recipe they were following. Also even if it was 6 pounds that motor still gave out which sucks no matter what. I get your point about duty cycles but I've pushed my own Kitchenaid harder than that on a hot day and it held up fine. Maybe the OP just got a lemon or it was already wearing out. Either way finishing 8 pounds of butter by hand is NO joke and I feel for them.