Hi everyone,

here's my problem :

I make cakes all the time and 99% of the time they end up gret but recently I bought a Kitchenaid standmixer and I cannot get a cake right with it. I'm using the same recipe, same oven, same process but my cakes won't rise and they end up tough and heavy. I tried beating the batter longer/shorter, faster/slower but always end up with the same result : disaster!

Any ideas of what I may be doing wrong?

What speed are you operating the mixer on? I rarely ever go above 4. when mixing cakes. And when I go to 4 its only for 1 and 1/2 minutes MAX. 

When I first got my KA, I went strictly by the recipes in the cook book that came with it until I got the hang of it.  Everything mixes very quickly.  Good Luck.

It sounds a little bit like you may be over mixing. 

I never went above speed 2-3

I follow exactly the recipe. I've made 4 cakes so far and none worked.

I use the reverse creaming method with cakes in my Kitchenaid and they work great - maybe try that method?  Makes it hard to over mix.

Liz

AI had this same issue when I first got my mixer. I even posted here for help - search 'heavy and dense cakes'. I started mixing using a speed of 2 and also recipes with more liquid tend to give me a lighter crumb.

May seem like a silly question but which mixing attachment are you using? I find the whisk attachment works best for batter and the beater attachment for frosting, although I know some people use it for both.