Hey all! I am wanting to get a kitchen aide mixer (hoping my dh and mom will pull together for Christmas ), but I don't know what to get or what to tell them. I've only seen the 4.5 qt. size here. I was also looking at some online that were 5 qt. Is there really much difference in the size when it comes to how much batter, frosting, or fondant it can do? Also do all KA mixers come with the ability to hook attachments like the pasta roller to the front or is that just a certain line. I'm kinda new to baking and don't know much about the mixers... any advice on what to look for in a good mixer? I just bought a new hand mixer and the first batch of bc I tried made it go out on me so I had to return it. I would really like something that will hold up for a while.

I have a Kitchen Aid Artisan and an older bowl-lift model (from the 70's I think). Both have the place to hook attachments, although I've never bought any of the attachments. I use the Artisan all the time, and the older one I bought as a backup (on craigslist for $25). I can make a full recipe of WASC, a double batch of Indy's BC, or a single batch of MMF at one time. I also use it to make bread and sweet rolls. It does well with recipes up to 8 cups of flour, but any more than that and it seems to struggle.

Somebody said in another post that Walmart is going to have a bowl-lift Kitchen Aid for $140 as one of their Black Friday specials. That's a really good deal, as long as you don't mind it being plain white.

I first had a classic Kitchen aid with 4.5 quart bowl. When I upgraded to the Artisan with the 5 quart bowl, I loved how the bowl was bigger. Honestly, I haven't noticed much difference in the power of the machine, if anything, it's not as good as my classic, but I do enjoy the larger bowl.

Threads on mixers on CC:

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=6515491&sid=48a64cd1ad7b7084c52a83822a343cd9

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-687786-0-days0-orderasc-.html&sid=2a1643a05e9512d3fb0cf001f5e1691c

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6967586-.html&sid=1fd02c9b275499b9cd76efbc7bdbef22

I have the Professional 600 and I LOVE IT!