I've finally found the perfect stand mixer for small kitchens - and it's as good as models twice the price

There's been a gap in the market for a compact stand mixer for a long time, but the Kenwood GO just filled it. This is petite and expertly designed. So much so, it instantly secured a spot in our stand mixers buying guide as a space-saving hero.

I am only five foot tall, so I'm inescapably tiny. I'm especially tiny, because I seem to pick tall friends, which accentuates my smaller-than-average size. In spite of this, I'm always being told "I didn't even notice you were small until you told me, because your personality is so big." I used to take it as a compliment (I think it's better to read it that way), but I take it as an extra compliment in light of the Kenwood GO Stand Mixer. This is me if I was a kitchen appliance. It does all the work of the best stand mixer on the market, just compacted down into a 30cm tall appliance. You wouldn't notice it was small (especially given that it can mix enough batter for 48 cupcakes at once) unless someone pointed out the size to you. That's what makes it so brilliant.

The GO's special features, aside from its height and lightweight build are innovative. It has a handle on top, which makes it easy to carry, lift, and adjust. It's well-built, but also well-priced (I actually think it's one of the best value stand mixers on the market). I threw some of my toughest tests yet at the Kenwood GO and it whipped and kneaded its way through them all. Here are all the details.

Specifications

Unboxing

Stand mixers are usually a few steps behind everyone else in terms of sustainable packaging, but the new Kenwood GO, as you might expect is ahead of them all. The soft plastics are all kept to a minimal; they’re recyclable; and the stand mixer still comes in tip top condition. It’s easy on your bins and on the planet too — everybody wins. 

Alongside the compact main body, you’ll get a mixer, dough hook, whisk, and splash guard. Even though all the parts felt premium, they’re so petite, I almost felt like I was six again, playing with a toy stand mixer. Even though they're robust, they're actually a lot lighter than most others that I've tested, which makes a nice change for anyone with sensitive wrists.

Who would it suit?

There are plenty of people that the Kenwood GOs design is perfect for. If you live in a small home, the compact body takes away concern over storage and space — this is as small as a food processor. The slightly boxy shape and easy carry handle makes storage incredibly easy (and it's also an attractive extra if you struggle with arthritis or wrist and mobility issues). I could get this into all of my cupboards and even one of my (very deep) drawers. It's rare for a stand mixer to be this tiny, but still keep up its powerful performance, so I'm very excited to have this to offer some of our readers.

If you’re new to baking, the Kenwood Go is also a great entry-level option. It's one of the best price points that I've seen. There are stand mixers that'll cost less than £250, but this feels like the best value. £250 gets you a good build quality, neat design, and decent performance. There is, after all, a very good reason why The Great British Bake Off decided to bring Kenwood Stand Mixers into the tent.

Aside from the compact design and reasonable price point, this is simple to use. The dial makes a lot of sense and most of the mechanisms for lifting the bowl and fitting attachments are simple. In fact, this did so well that I tested out some tougher tasks than most mixers get and it breezed through those. 

What is it like to use?

I hinted earlier that this is easy to use, because it really is. There's a dial that walks you through the different speed settings (of which there are ten) and all the attachments push and twist into place. The head tilts back, which is how I prefer my stand mixers. Some will use a bowl lifting function instead, but this can get a bit complicated. So, overall, this is a neat little stand mixer.

Test 1: cake

The first test that I put the Kenwood Go Stand Mixer through was making a cake. Normally, I'd do a chocolate cake, which is a simple, all-in-one job. I've since done this in the Kenwood and it breezed its way through throughly, effortlessly, and quickly.

The tougher task that I gave this was making a fruit cake. You're supposed to rub the butter into the flour, almost like a pastry, by hand before you do anything else. I wanted to see how the k-mixer could handle cold lumps of butter, so I left this running for three minutes and it worked the butter into fine crumbs. Then, I added in some milk and fruit and, using the slow setting, brought all the ingredients together. The slower setting was gentle on the soaked fruits and all of the mix worked together evenly into a nice smooth batter. I've round crushed raisins, smushed into mixes before, but this left all my pieces of fruit plump and well coated.

The mixer was really thorough and gentle, even though I filled the bowl with enough batter for two cake tins. That's proof that the Kenwood Go, although small, could do a family's worth of baking if pushed. I wouldn't like to take it any further than two cake tins, but then again, I'm not sure my jeans zip and button would like me to bake any more than two cakes at once anyway.

The resulting cake was beautiful. The stand mixer hadn't put too much heat into the mix, when rubbing the butter into the flour, so I had a beautifully light crumb and even rise. 

Test 2: bread

The next test that I normally run is on bread. I make a loaf of brown bread, which the Kenwood whizzed through. The loaf was perfect and my dough was elastic, so I thought I'd give this more of a thorough test: enriched dough. I kneaded in some soft butter, milk, and eggs to my sweet dough. And, again this was impressive. Even though enriched dough is sticky, this worked all the butter through the dough. It didn't cling to the dough hook or the sides of the bowl (I don't know what sort of magic was at work), but I was suitably impressed. I took the dough out of the bowl to knead on the surface and it felt really nice. The dough had some good spring to it, it was soft and elastic again.

I popped it back in and added some fruit and nuts to the dough to see how well the hook could incorporate the extra add-ins. Within a minute, this was studded with fruit across the board. It was brilliant.

My resulting dough rose well and when it went for the final bake, my enriched dough had great texture and crumb. I wish I could say that I played a part in that, but the Kenwood GO deserves all the credit.

Test 3: whipped cream

The Kenwood GO made light work of whipping cream too, although I'm sure you're expecting that result by now. I added my cream, set the stand mixer to full blast and — I kid you not, the cream was thick within a minute. I gave it another minute of surprisingly quiet whizzing and my cream was as thick as I would like it to be. 

The same applied when I did the test with more temperamental vegan cream. This should take a couple of minutes longer, but it delivered the same results. All in all, it's an impressive result.

Cleaning

The Kenwood GO bowl and accessories are all dishwasher safe, so the clean up is even easier than the baking, if that's at all possible. I am quite old-fashioned and generally like to wash up my baking accessories by hand: I think you stand a better chance at looking after your stand mixer for longer. You can use more gentle detergents as well as cooler water and softer drying up cloths. If you're like me, it's worth buying some Ecover or Method Washing Up Liquids, because these are really gentle. Make sure you're using a soft sponge too, because this won't scratch. If you've got some stubborn bread dough set across the different parts, just leave them to soak in the water for a little longer than the others.

How does it compare?

There are plenty of other stand mixers on the market, so I understand that you'd want to shop around. There are, however, only three comparisons worth making:

If you want a compact stand mixer, the KitchenAid Mini is probably on your list of contenders. As far as value for money goes, the Kenwood GO is miles ahead of the KitchenAid. This'll cost you nearly another £200 and, whilst it's a KitchenAid, you don't get anything other than the clout that a household name carries with it. If anything, the Kenwood is technically better.

If you want an inexpensive stand mixer, you'll be looking at the Salter Stand Mixer. This is even cheaper than the Kenwood GO. It shouldn't be retailing for more than £85. The 4L bowl is exactly the same as the Kenwood GO's though and yet this is more difficult to move around and store, namely because it doesn't have a handle. The Salter is lighter, but it also feels cheaper. The GO is more convincing as a robust, serious baker's stand mixer than the Salter, which is good, but only in the context of budget options.

If you want more power and capacity, my favourite is the Kenwood kMix. I would have said this even if it wasn't the stand mixer that they use on The Great British Bake Off (alongside KitchenAids, of course), but now that it has that clout too, it's a popular model. This doesn't have the handle or space-saving features of the GO, which is actually an advantage if you don't struggle for space in the kitchen. The kMix offers an extra 1L in the bowl and it's generally more powerful. The average baker probably wouldn't notice any difference, but if you like to get creative in the kitchen, you might want some extra power behind you on tougher bakes.

Should you buy it?

If you're short on space in the kitchen or you're a budding baker, the Kenwood GO is perfect. It's compact without compromise, delivering impressive results on enriched dough, fruit cake, cookie mix, and vegan cream. It hits the sweet spot for price too: it's not so cheap that it's flimsy, but the price isn't inflated because of any branding. I'm suitably impressed.

How we test

I'll level with you. Stand mixer testing is my favourite part of the job. I get to bake and call it work. Knowing that I am an enthusiastic baker of cakes, breads, and pastries is integral to understanding just how rigorous the tests that I run at woman&home are. I put every stand mixer through its paces time after time after time.

There are, of course, a series of standardised tests that I produce for all stand mixers, so that I can compare between models. I get them all to make a chocolate cake batter (good for testing creaming, mixing, and the beating function). I test making brown bread, which gives the dough hook a good run through. Finally, I test the whisk on whipping cream and vegan cream. These give me a good idea of the versatility and power behind any and every stand mixer, but I also like to keep these things in my kitchen for as long as possible, so that I can do more day-to-day baking. It'll help me to pick up on the same niggles that you would face at home.

Once I'm sure that I know everything that I would possibly need to about the stand mixer, I'll do some comparative work between other stand mixers. I talk you through other options, the value of the stand mixer, and I'll answer who I think should buy it. After all that, you'll be clear on whether this is for you. If it's not, I'll have pointed you in the direction of a model that's more appropriate.

You can find out more about how we test stand mixers on our dedicated page.