KA makes a hand mixer but it's --I started to say "heavy" but checked the stats and nowadays it's lighter than the Hamilton Beach. I haven't used a KithenAid (and never owned one) for over a decade.. My only owned hand mixer lives high on a shelf. Its an old old one, maybe Black & Decker, with the eggbeater style flat loops, that could whip cream fine, but wasn't good for creaming cold butter, like the stand mixer does OTOH, part of the point of creaming the butter is warming it up. If you warm your butter to soft and very spreadable (and warm your eggs on the counter at the same time!), as you're supposed to for making a cake, even the old style one will cream to aerate the butter and make a cake. Heck, I've made many cakes with just a fork when I didn't have any mixer at all.

Better hand mixers, nowadays, have the beaters made of thick wire, rather than the flat eggbeater style, and have at least a balloon whisk attachment for cream. The KA I looked at also has a frother, which could be handy, and a pair of things they call dough hooks, which might work on a small soft dough, like for making cinnamon rolls, or even that superhydrated "artisan" dough for a small loaf, but isn't for serious bread. But any of them should work for your two stated tasks and I'd make the choice based on how if feels in your hand, price and weight.

You might consider an immersion blender with attachments as an alternative. Mine has a very good whisk for making smaller amounts of whipped cream than my full sized stand mixer would like. It also powers a mini-chopper for herbs. But some newer ones like Ninja and Braun have beaters as well, which like my old hand held, should be perfectly fine for cake batter if you start with room temperature or slightly warmer butter.

I'm in the market for one as well. My current mixer was a wedding present, so close to 45 years old and well beyond its sell date :-) I am currently considering the highly rated Kitchen Aid 5 speed Ultra but not sure if I want to spend that much. I have a KA stand mixer I use often as well as a food processor and immersion blender and they cover 95% of my mixer requirements. The hand mixer I use primarily for whipping cream so I figure a cheapo one will work perfectly well for my needs for the remaining time I have in the kitchen!

Before hurricane Helene, I had a cute, inexpensive, and lightweight one by Dash with beaters that snap onto the sides for easier storage. It's corded, tho that's not shown in the photo, and lasted me for years, still in perfect shape, but no match for saltwater flooding 🙁

I replaced it with an Aldi 'Find' that's really good, and cost under $20 - it came with 2 sets of beaters too. Unfortunately, their Finds are only available for a limited time.

I use mine basically the same way - whipping cream and mixing batters - and not very often.

I've had one by West Bend for over fifty years (yep, back when many things were still built to last!) and it still works fine. Lightweight and does the job. Don't know if it is still made, but I'd bet real money that a new one wouldn't last as long, lol.

I’ve see new ones on Craigslist. I have a KA 5 (many years old, seldom used). It is okay.

I also have KA stand stand mixers, bought in greatcondition from yard sales and CL. Irarely use them these days, even though for the stand mixers you can get handy attachments. I have so e, but rarely use them these days.

We have a stick immersion blender that DH likes to use for home made tomato pasta sauce. I think it came with a whisk attachment.

Mine is a KA Ultra Power Plus 7 (7 speeds) and probably at least 25-30 years old. It’s been a real work horse. I do have a KA stand mixer for bigger jobs, but the hand mixer can handle some pretty stiff, dense ingredients. Highly recommended…as long as the new ones are made as well! This is mine…

I "had" a Kitchenaid 5 speed hand-held. The beaters wouldn't stay in. I chucked it after hitting a Black Friday sale @ Kohl's. It's a Toastmaster. After the rebate they paid ME $1.20 to own it. 👩‍🍳

I have a Kitchenaid that I like very much. I would probably stay away from the ones that have the silicone tips on the beaters. It seems to me that they could split or become frayed and then become an unwanted ingredient in your cake. I put my beaters in the dishwasher, so another reason to just use a silicone spatula to scrape the bowl. Watch for a sale!

Chloebud, Good point, and you just reminded me of something. After I git my hand-held KA (I think 5-speed) and before I got the stand mixers, I sometimes wished it had more oomph for certain batters.

That’s when I realized (decades ago) that I should have gotten the more powerful handheld mixter. Nowadays, I seldom bake, so I am fine. But you might want to get the one with a bit more power if you think you might ever need to mix a stiff batter. I cannot recall the batter that I was mixing back then, perhaps I was a cookie dough. I just saw a photo of chocolate chip cookies and for a minute or two was craving a couple along with a cup of good coffee. Thank goodness that craving was fleeting :)

I have this Hamilton Beach model that stores the beaters, wire whisk and cord neatly. Zero complaints but I mostly use my Kitchen aide.

eta

I wanted to add that this mixer is a few years old but I just purchased a Hamilton Beach juicer and I am pleased with the quality. This brand is still kicking.

I had a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I loved having it but rarely used it and it took up a lot of counter space for me. I gifted it to my next door neighbor (10 years old) and becoming an amazing baker. She was thrilled. I also have a Kitchen Aid hand mixer. It's really all I need and I like it very much. Mine's yellow.

I have a KA stand mixer but the hand held for smaller jobs. I replaced my very vintage KA hand mixer just a few years ago and did buy one - also KItchenAid and on sale as is all else I buy - with the flex beaters. The beaters to the old model I owned fit the new - I find I have three sets of beaters for that 6 speed hand mixer. I don't use the flex beaters especially often but will use those if I'm concerned about leaving marks in a bowl or damaging the non stick finish in a saucepan (I do use it for whipped potatoes for 2 😊, sometimes in the same pan I've cooked the potatoes in)

I have the same KA Ultra Power Plus 7 as chloebud (mine is red). It has both a set of beaters, a whisk, and a paddle which i rarely have used. I think I’ve had it 10-15 years. It replaced a Hamilton Beech which was ok, but just couldn’t handle most heavy jobs well like butter. I have made batches of whipped cream with the KA with no issues. I’m sure it would handle a larger amount, I’ve never had the need to do it.

I also have a stick blender (Braun) which I love but wouldn’t use it for batter or whipping anything. I rarely use my big, ancient KA mixer for anything unless I’m making a big cake with a lot of batter like a pound cake

Just to clarify, there are stick blender models which have whisk and beater attachments. You don't use the blender part for whipping cream. The whisk on my 20 year old Braun makes nice whipped cream, though for a whole pint I use the stand mixer.

Mine is an ancient Moulinex. It was my mother's. But what I wanted to say was, don't get a fancy curved shaped one. There's one here where I'm staying in France and it's infuriating that you can't stand it tilted on its back when you want to put it down. You have to lie it on its side.Very messy. Cake mix on the surfaces.

My Cuisinart stick blender has attachments for a whisk and also has a mini food processor for it. The stick blender attachment easily pops off to change it to a whisk or food processor. I think the only thing I'm not wild about is the locking safety feature, but I suppose it is necessary.

My Cuisinart stick (immersion) blender doesn't even come apart fully for deep cleaning, arkansas girl!

I stumbled across them at an unbeatable price a few years ago and bought several for Christmas presents, one for me. I use it to smooth out a sauce or gravy and will often make a smoothie for my lunch with it, using an envelope of instant breakfast, milk, ice cream and fruit. I wash it immediately before anything has a chance to dry on it, using the mixing container that came with it or sink with a bit of dish soap and water. Which means I'm running it in the sink while plugged in, making DH crazy.....

Immersion blenders are such great time savers. I well remember the days of transferring from pot to blender to pot. My Braun stick is as old as the hills and humming right along.👍🏻

Morz8 when you say doesn't come apart fully, do you mean the blade assembly doesn't detach? If it's not a counterfeit, the blade assembly should either twist off or use a push button release to drop off. Unless you meant that the blade doesn't come out of the housing? That's standard. The blade assembly of my old Braun can go in the dishwasher, so I do that if there's something icky stuck on it. Google says that Cuisinart blade assemblies with shaft (detached from the motor head, of course) can also go in the dishwasher. Maybe that would be a good recourse if your careful cleaning isn't enough?

Probably if it's not new, the blade section doesn't come apart from the motor? Mine is fairly new and has a push button and comes apart very easily. That's pretty handy but I'd never put it in the dishwasher even though I'm supposed to be able to.

I've always been intrigued by immersion blenders, but wondered if using it in a pot would scratch the inside of the pot. Anyone?

faftris, the blade is covered by a guard. If the guard is metal, I suppose it could create scratches/marks. My guard is plastic and I’ve never had an issue. I don’t use it in non-stick cookware. IDK, maybe some more recent models have rubber guards. I’ve also found holding the stick at a slight angle really helps, along with slowly moving it around the pot. Often everything is pureed just fine keeping the stick in the center of the pot.

Mine has a plastic shield, so no scratching. The blades themselves, and their shaft, don't touch the bottom, and the housing protects the sides. There are some with metal, though most home units have a plastic rim, at least. I wouldn't think even an all metal edge wouldn't be particularly scratchy, but you can choise one which gives you the most peace of mind. Some worry more about the plastic, but I don't use mine in particularly hot pots. Even just quite warm can sting when it splatters, which it will if it's too shallow, you raise it too much while blending, or tilt too much. Basically, when you expose the flow holes.

Update: Ok, well I ended up ordering a Hamilton Beach one similar to JoanM's; her pic pushed me over the edge with the attached storage, I'm tired of wrangling the dang cord around the one I have. H.B. has a range of them with the storage box, but I decided to get the Professional 5-speed. It got good reviews on A*n, so we'll see.

I have a cordless rechargable KitchenAid mixer and I like the fact that I can just take it where ever it's convenient and use it. Also, as long as it's kept charged I can use it in my daughter's camper or even outside while grilling. The beaters only fit in their specific spots and that's not designated anywhere on the mixer, so that makes me a bit aggravated. It's fine for cake mixes, quick breads, frosting, whipped cream, etc. but I don't think I'd try to use it for something as thick as cookie dough. It only comes with one set of beaters.

Annie