Jennifer Garner’s £35 accessory is the upgrade every baker needs - I’ve sworn by mine for years
It's perfect for buttery biscuits and flakier pastry
Jennifer Garner’s Pretend Cooking Show series is more than just a bit of fun - it's packed everyday ways to elevate your bakes - and my favourite is her £35 KitchenAid accessory. It's one that I swear by for buttery shortbread and melt-in-the-mouth pastry.
In the latest instalment, a lesson on making "bisquettes", which Garner celebrates as “something new for back to school breakfasts” she reveals a treasure trove of KitchenAid insights.
From her slightly unconventional choice of KitchenAid Stand Mixer (more on that later) as well as the KitchenAid accessory that will elevate your banking to Paul Hollywood handshake territory - and it's only £35.
Compatible with all KitchenAid stand mixers, this is the accessory you'll use for your most impressive bakes. Attach it to any KitchenAid to make buttery biscuits and flaky pastry.. It's on sale at Currys right now, but you can buy it for the full £49 RRP at KitchenAid and other retailers too.
KitchenAid's bowl-lift design offers better stability than tilt-head models, making it the perfect choice for bakers who often tackle tricky, dough and bread recipes. You get a half-speed hand folding setting for delicate bakes and almost 1 litre more capacity than the tilt-head Artisan (their best-seller and a celebrity favourite.)
Crafted from stainless steel, with clever loop handles, these are the perfect cookie cutters for you bakes. They're easier to press, imprint, and lift than the more traditional cookie cutters, but still easy to store.
Jennifer Garner's Pretend Cooking Show is a joy to follow. She's self-deprecating about tea towels with holes in and bakes that don't come out picture perfect, but underneath the humour, she shares tips that hold up.
Her latest instalment on bisquettes - a hybrid of biscuit and muffin - makes for a handy grab-and-go bake which she says is perfect for back-to-school breakfasts. I'll be trying these myself this weekend, but, as ever, it wasn't just the food that caught my eye.
Garner fixed her KitchenAid stand mixer with a pastry cutter attachment, describing it as "a bit of a flex." The tool works by cutting cold butter into flour and sugar without the warmth of your hands softening it, which is what gives pastry and shortbread their signature crumbly, flaky texture rather than a dense or leathery one.
The KitchenAid pastry cutter attachment has had its moment in the spotlight since KitchenAid bundled it with their 2025 colour of the year mixer in butter yellow and I've noticed more bakers reaching for it since. It should be £49, but Currys has it reduced to £35 at the moment, which is a steal.
I've been using mine for years and my aunty, who's baked every wedding and birthday cake in our family (with some almost unbelievable showstoppers among them) wouldn't be without hers.
We also can't overlook that Garner bakes with the bowl-lift KitchenAid rather than the tilt-head version more commonly seen in celebrity kitchens - Nigella Lawson and Kate Middleton's to name just two.
Both designs work well, but the bowl-lift model (Jennifer's) offers more stability for heavier doughs, especially breads, as well as a family-friendly 5.6L capacity. It's the one that professional bakers often opt for, making Garner's choice a very telling one - especially when paired with her dough scraper, which is a tool that only earns cupboard space if you're regularly elbow-deep in dough. Garner's clearly a serious home baker rather than someone playing it up for the camera.
Alternative pastry cutters
This handheld alternative is still made by KitchenAid, so you can trust the quality and performance. With a soft grip handle and stainless steel body, it's easy to use and effective too, even if you don't have a stand mixer.
If you're not wed to the KitchenAid name, you can save a few pounds. This is also handheld, so works better in a stainless steel bowl and rocks easily across butter and flour for a crumbly finish.
Brilliant for dough as well as pastry, this takes a little more work, but offers more versatility. I use mine for sourdough as well as pastry - when I haven't got my KitchenAid attachment to hand.
I love investing in KitchenAid accessories and attachments, because they can give your stand mixer a whole new function. In this instance, the pastry cutter is simple and affordable, but with a delicious pay off. Whether you're buying this as a gift, or stocking up before cosy baking season, this is a small accessory that earns compliments well above its price point. Thank you, Jen.
