Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer review

If you love to bake but don’t have the bench space – or budget – for a bulky stand mixer then you might be considering a hand mixer. For starters, it’s a more affordable option for the home baker and takes up less space in the kitchen – the Sunbeam Mixmaster hand mixer even comes with its own storage container.

We have tried out plenty of different mixers both in the Test Kitchen and our own homes, so we were eager to see how much value this Sunbeam Hand Mixer offered for its $44.95 price tag. We put it through its paces using its beaters and dough hooks to make our classic Test Kitchen sponge cake, a loaf of white bread and a stunning pavlova topped with whipped cream.

Here’s how we found it…

Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer review verdict

Good for: Keen bakers who want the convenience of an electric mixer without the price tag of a stand mixer. This portable electric mixer is compact and would suit a kitchen with limited storage. We love the handy storage compartment as well.

What we love

It’s easy to use and clean. The attachments are dishwasher-safe.
The versatility of six different speed settings.
The storage compartment keeps all the attachments together, plus the cord.

What you need to know

This machine does get pretty loud, especially when on level 6 or using turbo setting.
It’s a little heavy, which was noticeable after whipping the eggs and sugar for seven minutes while making the sponge cake.

What’s good about the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer?

We were really impressed by how easy it was to use the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer for a sponge cake, a loaf of white bread and a pavlova, which all require different mixing techniques.
Women’s Weekly Test Kitchen team

The beaters and dough hooks are dishwasher-safe, which means no need for fiddly hand-washing.
The six speed settings makes this electric mixer quite versatile. In our testing, the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer handled both delicate meringue and firm dough with ease.
The storage compartment keeps the attachments centrally located, meaning they won’t go missing in the cutlery drawer (A.K.A. the sock drawer of the kitchen!).
We like that you can sit it upright on the benchtop, keeping the beaters and the counter clean. This is really handy when you need to pause beating to add another ingredient.

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Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer materials and size

Testing how well the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer made meringue left us impressed. — From raw eggs to a structured meringue, the beaters worked well for our classic pavlova. *(Credit: Caitlyn McGrath)*

This electric hand mixer is compact and won’t take up much room in the pantry or a kitchen cupboard, especially compared to the larger footprint of a stand mixer.

The Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer comes with a 12-month replacement or repair warranty.
The hand mixer itself clicks into the clear storage compartment, making it one compact unit. The compartment can store the attachments and the cord. No more dusty or missing bits and pieces when you’ve already got the ingredients out and you want to make a cake! Sit the unit upright or down flat if there are height restrictions.
Wattage: 200 watts
The entire unit (including attachments) weighs just under 1.4kg.
The V-groove beaters and dough hooks are made from stainless steel.
There are six speed settings and the option of a power burst (the turbo button). This seems to be a way to jump to level six, the highest speed setting, without turning the dial, and works a bit like a pulse button on a blender.

How to use the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer

The process for using a hand mixer is a bit different to a stand mixer. So if you’re not used to one, or haven’t really mastered the technique, we’ve included steps to prepare this hand mixer and insights on using it for the recipes we tested.

How to prepare the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer for use:

Secure a sturdy bowl over a tea towel.
Have all ingredients measured out and utensils easily accessible.
Fix the hook or beater attachments securely. This is made simple with the load-and-lock twist motion.

Tips for making bread dough:

Kneading the dough for our white bread took just eight minutes with the Sunbeam Mixmaster's dough hooks. — From dough to loaf, it took eight minutes of kneading with the dough hooks to make this loaf. *(Credit: Caitlyn McGrath)*

Bring all ingredients together with a wooden spoon until it forms a rough dough ball before using the hand mixer with the dough hook attachments so that ingredients don’t get stuck to the sides of the bowl. You don’t need to this with a stand mixer.
Place dough hooks into mixture and knead using speed six.
As dough becomes more elastic and resistant, use your non-dominant hand to press down on top of the mixer to secure the hooks in the dough. This is to prevent the dough hooks from moving up and out of the dough.
Don’t move the hooks around the bowl. Secure hooks in the same position in the bowl so the dough can move freely around the hooks.
We found that eight minutes of kneading with the hand mixer was perfect to form a smooth and elastic dough.

Tips for making a sponge cake:

The Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer produced a light and airy sponge. — The Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer produced a light and airy sponge, although our hands got tired beating the egg whites and sugar. *(Credit: Caitlyn McGrath)*

When beating eggs and sugar, beat on high (speed six) while moving the mixer in a slow circular motion around the bowl.
Scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula, ensuring all sugar is combined and dissolved.
It took us seven minutes using the beater attachments for the egg whites and sugar to reach the ribbon stage.

Results from our test

The pavlova, white bread and sponge cake we made with the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer all turned out beautifully. — They’re dressed to impress … We made a classic pavlova, a loaf of white bread and our Test Kitchen sponge cake with the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer. *(Credit: Stefanie Maystorovich)*

We were really impressed with the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer.

In the Test Kitchen, we primarily use stand mixers, and there were a few tweaks we had to make to our processes when using the Sunbeam Hand Mixer. We found we were wiping down the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the sugar dissolved properly when making the pavlova and sponge, and that we had to mix the bread ingredients into a rough dough before kneading with the hooks to ensure the dough came together properly.

Ultimately, these were minor adjustments and we were really pleased with the end result of all three tests. The meringue mixture even passed the finger test! The finger test is where the meringue mixture is rubbed between two fingers to check for a non-grainy texture indicating the sugar has dissolved.

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Is the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer worth it?

With a price point around $45, this Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer (JMP1000WH) is a budget-conscious baker’s best friend. With dough hooks and beaters, plus six different speed settings, it suits a variety of bakes, from cakes to bread and even a delicate meringue (plus cream!).

Stand mixers are kinder on the hands and a little faster, as they can take on a bit more of the mixing load, but they are more expensive and do take up quite a bit of bench space. So if you’re at the start of your baking journey and don’t want to invest the money or bench space in a stand mixer, this is a good place to start. The same goes for occasional bakers or budget conscious shoppers. There’s a lot you can do with this little Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer as the video and photos in this review attest!