I burned up my old mixer when I took my first Wilton's course. I bought a new one ($40.00 - what I felt was expensive) about 6 weeks ago. My daughter and I begin our Course 2 class tomorrow, and as she was making her first-ever batch of royal icing, something happened with the consistency - much too thick. I think she must have measured wrong or something. Anyway, I wasn't here, she is 13, and she just kept on plowing with that mixer . . . and burned up the motor. I smelled it as soon as I came in the door. I kept my cool, explained to her what she should have done (like turn off the mixer and wait for me!), and now I am close to tears, but I don't want her to feel bad. I foolishly threw away the receipt, thinking that as long as the mixer was working fine, I didn't need it. I guess I'm just out of a mixer . . . with a new set of classes starting.
Also, your teacher should've explained to you that making ri with a hand held was an excersice in futility!
you are going to burn out more mixers than you care to know about!
sorry!
Hope you can get it sorted!!
Oh, what a shame, and your daughter was truly trying to help, too too bad....... so good going (keeping your cool)
I know just what you mean, my hand beater burned out with a big sizzle a few weeks back and I was almost in tears. Canadian Tire had a great Farberware stand mixer on for $100 Cdn, I got one and it is sturdy and even made marshmallow fondant without a fuss. Maybe the stand mixer is the way to go - maybe it could be your present from someone?
Keep your chin up; things will work out.
Now, let me state first, that I can from VERY tight finances, but.... you will continue to burn up mixers if you buy cheap ones. You may even burn up a Kitchen Aid if you try do a fondant with it. Hand mixing thicker things will save you money and frustration. I think it would be wiser to save little by little to get a really good mixer and mix by hand until then. Well, maybe get one (and you probably can exchange it if you go to the same store). but don't do heavy things with it.
Amazon and ebay and other places have sales on Kitchen Aids all the time and even refurbished ones. I think you'll spend less money in the long run if you buy good quality over poor quality. You just can't expect a handheld mixer to do stiff mixes - it's not what they are meant for.
melissa
I went through the same thing taking the Wilton classes. I burned up 3 new mixers!!! Finally I broke down and got a Sunbeam countertop from Walmart. It was under a $100 and until I upgrade it has been doing a great job. It is well worth the investment if you are going to be making cakes. Royal Icing is hard enough to make with a mixer, I couldn't imagine how much time and work it would be mixing by hand. Look for sales, but a handheld will not do the job in this case. Good luck![/i]
I'm so sorry-I would contact the manufacturer about it. I had a mixer that I paid $90 and it burned out in just under a year. I thought I was totally out of luck on it but decided to see what would happen if I contacted Sunbeam. I told them I didn't have the reciept anymore and that I'd had it for almost a year. They were very understanding and sent me a brand new mixer at no charge. It's worth a shot to get in touch with them- you never know they may replace it for you!
Good luck and happy baking!!!
I agree, save up and buy a really good one. Until then just try it by hand. I don't own a food mixer and do everything by hand. It's not as much of a chore as you may think (and i have a great bicep muscle on my right arm now!)
Okay, you have made my arm HURT!! I cannot imagine trying this. BUT, I do, however, remember my grandmother doing it ALL THE TIME and she made GREAT meringue pies!
I agree, save up and buy a really good one. Until then just try it by hand. I don't own a food mixer and do everything by hand. It's not as much of a chore as you may think (and i have a great bicep muscle on my right arm now!)
Okay, you have made my arm HURT!! I cannot imagine trying this. BUT, I do, however, remember my grandmother doing it ALL THE TIME and she made GREAT meringue pies!
Meringue for pie is diff than ri...it's softer for one and you cook the sugar syrup so that does more than 1/2 your work!
ri for piping needs to be stiff or the things you pipe will not hold their shape..but, if you want to try it...be my guest and let us know how it turns out ! 
Thank you all for your advice and sympathy! LOL I don't quite see myself doing this by hand. When my first mixer burned out, I did cake batter by hand and about died. My husband says we can't afford a stand mixer right now, so I may have to try just contacting the company (GE) and see if I can get them to replace it. I threw away the receipt and the box, so I'm pretty sure WM won't take it back. I'm thinking that if I can't get a strong enough mixer, and this course is all about flowers from RI . . . then I won't be able to continue for a while. That's just the way the ball bounces, I guess.
I might try craigslist and see if anyone has a stand mixer they're selling for cheap because they upgraded or something. Might even see if anyone has one they're not using that they'd just give away - it's a long shot, but you never know!
Thanks again!
Thank you all for your advice and sympathy! LOL I don't quite see myself doing this by hand. When my first mixer burned out, I did cake batter by hand and about died. My husband says we can't afford a stand mixer right now, so I may have to try just contacting the company (GE) and see if I can get them to replace it. I threw away the receipt and the box, so I'm pretty sure WM won't take it back. I'm thinking that if I can't get a strong enough mixer, and this course is all about flowers from RI . . . then I won't be able to continue for a while. That's just the way the ball bounces, I guess.
I might try craigslist and see if anyone has a stand mixer they're selling for cheap because they upgraded or something. Might even see if anyone has one they're not using that they'd just give away - it's a long shot, but you never know!
talk to your teacher, even though making the icing is learning about the proper consistency, she may do you the favor of making a little extra icing for you or asking one of the other students with a bigger mixer to do so if you provide the sugar.
There is NEVER not a way around things!
Thanks again!
My instructor said she'll make the RI for me if I can't get a new mixer by next week. She's great in helping to figure out a way around obstacles! She said she's never known RI to wreck a hand mixer, and the other student in our class did hers with a hand mixer this morning and it did fine. My daughter did something, and none of us can figure out what, that made it far too stiff. It's like a lump of clay. So whenever I can get a new mixer, I'll try it and see how we do. Thanks again for all your help!
That's wonderful that your instructor is being so helpful. It's definitely worth contacting GE to see if they can send a replacement. Hopefully it'll work out for you. Everything happens for a reason Keep smiling and remember:
When all else fails, eat cake!!
Happy Baking
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%