The Kitchen Mixer Attachment That Gives Your Batter A More Even Mix

A stand mixer makes whipping up your favorite treats a whole lot easier than mixing by hand, but there's one handy add-on that can make the whole process even smoother: a scraper-edge mixer attachment. The best stand mixer brands have their own unique takes take on beaters with silicon or rubber scraping edges, like KitchenAid's flex-edge beater to those with scraper edges on both sides of the attachment. Overall, the scraper-edge beater attachment does everything a flat edge beater does but without the need to scrape the sides manually between mixing cycles.

The scraper-edge beater even looks similar to standard flat beater (not to be confused with the hook or whisk attachment). However, it has a spatula-like edge that covers the attachment and effectively removes excess batter by scraping along the sides while mixing. This not only reduces the need to continually do so manually between mixing but also ensures all your ingredients (including loose flour, creamed butter, or sticky honey) get incorporated more evenly into the mix.

This attachment reduces the risk of homemade buttercream or brownies that end up with unincorporated butter, sugar, or dry ingredient clumps. With it, you can achieve a consistent texture and fully incorporated batter, dough, or confection. It's certainly a must-have for all home bakers out there.

While silicone-edge mixer attachments are useful for any home baker or avid pastry chef, like many specialty kitchen mixer attachments, it's usually not included with the standard attachments of a kitchen mixer. So, depending on your mixer, you may need to purchase it separately. The kind of scraper-edge attachment you select may also depend on the size of your mixing bowl or whether it's a tilt-head mixer. Fortunately, a variety of edge-scraper kitchen mixer attachments can be found readily in stores and online, typically for $60 or less.

While the silicone-edge beater attachments can mix most of your treats to the perfect right texture, it is worth noting that the mixer attachment you choose will still depend on the baking application. Since the batter attachment with a silicone edge helps incorporate everything easily, you can swap it for any mixing situation that normally calls for a flat beater attachment. From there, it will combine confections like custard filling flawlessly and help avoid over-mixing pancakes, muffins, or cake batter, which can become tough if you mix them too much.

However, for mixing applications that require high shear, like whipped cream, you'll want to choose the whisk attachment. Likewise, for kneading bread dough, select a dough hook. Still, you'll be glad you have the scraper-edge mixer attachment handy in your kitchen.