KitchenAid's controversial redesign is a first in 70 years - and it's an upgrade in the truest sense

For decades, the KitchenAid Stand Mixer has been a baking status symbol, gracing the counters of real Royalty and The Great British Bake Off to name just two. So, when I heard that KitchenAid had redesigned its beloved stand mixer for the first time in almost 70 years, I'll admit I felt a little protective. Some classics don't need reinventing, do they?

As it turns out, this one did. And KitchenAid has more than earned the right to prove it. After years of testing some of the best stand mixers on the market, I've come to appreciate all of KitchenAid's appeal, from the reliable performance, reassuring weight and timeless design, down to the curve of the bowl and its very specific attachments. I couldn't imagine what a new design could possibly add without losing the KitchenAid's very essence, but the design team really has put the cherry on top.

That's why I'm pleased to see the KitchenAid Artisan Plus' silhouette remains intact. Rather than tampering with everything that made the original so enduring, KitchenAid has refined the experience of its stand mixers with thoughtful, useful updates that make the mixer feel more contemporary without losing its unmistakable character. The result is less a reinvention of the original Artisan and more a graceful way of growing up. KitchenAid still comes with all the charm that made it iconic, while making life in the kitchen that little bit easier.

KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer review

• Colours: 11, including new Sun Dried Tomato, Wild Blueberry, Iron Ore Bronze, and Oat.
• Weight: 11.1 kgs
• Capacity: 4.7L
• Settings: 11 speed settings, including a half speed for folding.
• Material: Cast zinc body, enamel coating, stainless steel bowl and accessories.
• Dimensions: 36 x 24 x 37 cm
• Accessories: Wire whisk, dough hook, beater, and double Flex Edge beater
• Motor: 230 Watts
• Warranty: 5 years

Who would the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer suit?

• Detail-orientated bakers: the bowl light and speed setting navigation is subtle, but a treat for anyone who takes joy in the details
• Chefs who do lots of hand mixing and folding: stand mixers have historically been too aggressive here, but the half-speed setting is gentle enough to tick that box
• Traditional bakers making a style statement: the iconic design will always command admiration, and none more so than this

You'll appreciate the Artisan Plus if you appreciate the details that most people overlook. It's an appliance built on subtle upgrades that modernise the traditional KitchenAid design. The bowl light and the clarity of the speed dial aren't showy additions, but they make the day-to-day experience of using the mixer that much more satisfying for anyone paying attention.

The half-speed setting, also solves a problem that traditional KitchenAid stand mixers have long struggled with, which is the tendency to overwork delicate mixtures. If you're often folding by hand, this is the setting is a treat because it can fold in whipped mixtures and mix fruits in without too much bleeding. And then there's the design itself, which hasn't needed to change to stay relevant; it's the reason the Artisan Plus continues to sit on counters as a statement piece as much as a workhorse, appealing to bakers who see their kitchen equipment as an extension of their craft and their taste.

What's the difference between the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer and the Artisan??

Whether you go for the original Artisan or the Artisan Plus comes down to how closely you're paying attention to your own baking process. If you're an occasional or casual baker, the standard Artisan will do everything you need. It's not being outclassed here, it's simply not being tested by these upgrades in the first place. So, the Artisan, or indeed the Classic, is a savvy choice (we've done an Artisan vs Classic deep dive if you want to compare those two.)

However, if you bake often enough to have opinions about your equipment, the Plus starts to make its case in ways that add up. The bowl light matters most to anyone who's ever pulled a bowl out from under the mixer head to check on a mix rather than trusting what they can see in situ, or who tends to bake later in the day. The half-speed setting matters most to anyone who still finishes things by hand, or who's lost volume in a whipped mixture by folding too roughly. The speed dial matters to anyone who bakes anything finicky enough that a half-step in speed changes the result, macarons and choux being the obvious examples. And the flex edge beater, while not exclusive to the Plus, is reason enough on its own for a lot of bakers to upgrade, particularly if stiff doughs and batters are a regular feature of what you make. None of these differences will matter to someone who bakes a banana bread once a month. All of them will matter to someone who bakes for a living, or close to it.

Unboxing the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer

Unboxing the Artisan Plus will feel familiar if you've owned a KitchenAid before. There's still the signature, unmistakable tilt-head silhouette is still very much intact, now available in 12 colourways so there's little excuse not to find one that suits your kitchen.

Mine arrived well packed in polystyrene, and everything lifted out easily, including the four attachments: a wire whisk, dough hook, paddle, and the double flex edge beater, which comes with its own pair of silicone scrapers built in to catch batter round the sides as it mixes. The mixer itself is heavy, heavier to move than you might expect if you've not owned a KitchenAid. It's the reason that many people choose to keep theirs on the counter, rather than move it in and out of cupboards. Importantly, that weight is exactly what keeps it planted on the counter rather than rocking about mid-mix, so it's a trade worth making.

The little details stood out early on in the unboxing and set up too. The splash guard clips onto the bowl via silicone feet rather than sitting loose, the pouring funnel is sturdy enough to rest an egg on its edge while you crack it, and the stainless steel bowl handle feels properly weighted rather than an afterthought. There's a cord tidy too, which shouldn't feel like a luxury but somehow does.

The standout new feature, though, is the bowl light, which gives off a small practical glow. You'll also spot the half-speed setting, which is a nice bit of thoughtful engineering as well: turn the dial one way and you click between speeds as normal, turn it the other and it glides smoothly between them. I was relieved that the KitchenAid still has its iconic look and feel, just with a modern touch.

What is the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer like to use?

I started with my whipped cream test, which runs at the highest speed and is a brilliant stress test of raw power and motor efficiency. Both my dairy and vegan cream reached stiff, glossy peaks in under a minute, one of the fastest times I have on record, a full 40 seconds quicker than the standard Artisan.

The sliding speed scale came into its own here, too: rather than jumping between fixed increments, it lets you ease into aeration gradually, which suits whisking work far better than a stepped dial. There was minimal splatter throughout, and I didn't need the splash guard at any point (I did use it, but saw no spatter on the sides of the bowl, and pouring in was clean and controlled). All in all, it was a hit.

For the cake test, I tried both a classic sponge and a mix-in batter with courgette and blueberries, the latter is my attempt at making it healthy. The butter and sugar creamed to a pale, aerated consistency well within expectation, and the flour incorporated cleanly with no pockets of unmixed flour left at the base of the bowl, which is a common issue on mixers that don't scrape efficiently.

It is worth noting that I dropped to fold speed once the eggs and flour went in, which stopped the batter from overworking and losing the air already whipped into it. Overmixing at this stage is one of the most common causes of a dense, close-crumbed sponge and while I have no doubt that the KitchenAid has the power to overdo it, this mixed gently on setting 3. When I was adding in the courgette, I didn't need to drop the speed, but when it came to delicate blueberries, at the half speed, each berry stayed intact throughout, with no bleeding into the batter, which tells you the paddle action is gentle enough not to rupture fruit on contact. I used the flex-edge beater here, which is important for not crushing the fruit, largely thanks to the open shape and silicone edges.

The cookie test is where the flex edge beater really proves its worth. It kept the sides and base of the bowl consistently clean through every stage, creaming butter and sugar, incorporating eggs, then folding through flour and chocolate chips. It worked so well that I noticed that I didn't needing to stop and scrape down the sides because they were kept clean - and the same applies to my kneading function too.

Standard K-beaters tend to snag on chocolate chunks and drag them round rather than through the mixture, but this moved smoothly regardless of piece size. It's also worth flagging the textural phases cookie dough goes through as you mix: soft and light during creaming, then noticeably thicker and heavier once the flour's fully incorporated. I folded the chocolate through at half speed to avoid crushing the pieces, and the dough could go straight into the fridge to chill, without needing to shift fridge shelf height to accommodate it. Obviously this varies between fridge designs, but it's good to know that the bowl is a reasonable size for chilling and storing, if needed.

Bread is where a lot of serious bakers switch to a different style of stand mixer altogether, since the density and resistance of dough can destabilise a machine that drives from the head rather than the base. This is notable for how much torque it maintains under load, from a sticky, high-hydration brioche at the weekend through to a lower-moisture farmhouse loaf, there was no rocking, bouncing, or walking across the counter, and the gluten development was quick and properly elastic in both cases.

One design detail worth mentioning: the top of the dough hook is broad and flat, which is meant to stop the dough climbing up the shaft mid-knead. However, it's worth being mindful of with any add-ins like seeds or dried fruit, as they can sit on top of the hook rather than working through the dough if added through the splash guard.

What is the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer like to clean?

Clean-up is straightforward across all the attachments. They can be cleaned with a simple a wipe, using warm water and washing-up liquid. The flex edge beater needs slightly more care around the silicone scrapers, where residue can collect in the join between the blade and the paddle if you're not thorough, so it's worth going over that seam by hand rather than relying on a quick rinse.

Drying everything with a cloth rather than leaving it to air-dry stops water marks forming on the stainless steel, which otherwise show up more than you'd expect given how polished the finish is. The main body just needs a wipe-down with a damp cloth — nothing goes near the motor housing, and the tilt-head design means it's easy to reach around without disturbing anything underneath.

Should you buy the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer?

So, is the KitchenAid Artisan Plus worth buying? If you're a serious baker, someone who bakes often enough to have noticed the small frustrations of a standard stand mixer, rather than someone baking a occasional batch of cookies, then yes, unreservedly. You don't need to ditch your current KitchenAid in favour of the Plus, because lots of the upgrades are "nice to haves" rather than "need to haves".

That being said, the upgrades here aren't gimmicks; the half-speed setting genuinely solves a real problem for anyone who hand-finishes their bakes, the flex edge beater earns its place as a permanent fixture rather than a spare attachment, and the bowl light is the sort of feature you don't know you need until you've used it and can't go back. It held its own through everything from whipped cream to brioche without rocking, bouncing, or struggling, which is more than can be said for plenty of mixers.

Where it's harder to justify is if your baking is occasional or casual (the standard Artisan will do the job perfectly well) and you're unlikely to notice what you're missing. But for anyone who bakes as a hobby, or close to a professional standard, this pays for itself in daily use as well as sitting as a display piece.

How we test stand mixers

At woman&home, we have a rigorous process for how we test some mixers not in the least because I am a keen baker so I’ll take any excuse to make cakes bread and whipped cream and call it work. Every stand mixer that I review gets at least two weeks on my countertop. Initially, I’ll put it through three tests that every stand mixer has to go through. Make a cake with the beating attachment; I whip cream with the whisk; and I need bread with the dough hook. This gives me a good gauge of how good the stand mixer is on the basics. With that in mind, I’ll move on to more adventurous bakes and cakes to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the stand mixer. By the end of my test, I'll have a good idea of who this suits and where other stand mixes are better. I’ll compare different models to give you a good gauge of what this is like in terms of value and where it sits in the market.