The Perfect KitchenAid Attachment For Frosting

Frosting is pretty amazing, isn’t it? That fluffy whipped goodness is the literal icing on the cake that can turn the most simple bakes into a show-stopping masterpiece.

Although making frosting might be one of the easiest baking recipes in your repertoire, with the help of your trusty KitchenAid mixer, it just got even easier. Regardless of what type of frosting you are planning on making, your KitchenAid frosting attachments will guarantee a delicious bowl of fantastic frosting every time.

Without further ado, allow me to share a few of my frosting top tips and my favorite KitchenAid attachments for icing.

KitchenAid Frosting Attachments: How to choose

As you probably know, frosting is seriously versatile, it comes in many different forms. From the classic buttercream and swiss meringue buttercream to cream cheese frosting, ganache or whipped cream there are endless varieties to choose from. While they fall under the same broad category, each type of frosting requires a slightly different technique to get a perfect consistency, and because of that, sometimes requires some different tools. 

The perfect KitchenAid attachment for buttercream icing is not the same as the ones you would use to make the whipped cream frosting, for example. Knowing which of your attachments to use for frosting really depends on the type you are planning on making.

Here’s a quick breakdown of which attachments I suggest using for the most popular types of frosting.

Paddle Attachment	Wire Whip
Simple Buttercream	Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Cream Cheese Frosting	Italian Meringue Frosting
Decorator’s Buttercream	French Buttercream
Pastry Cream Buttercream	7 Minute Frosting
Royal Icing	Whipped Cream Frosting
Ermine Buttercream	Ganache Frosting (with whipped cream)
Fudge Frosting

If you want to find out why some attachments are better for certain types of frosting, read on!

Flat Beater

The flat beater or paddle attachment will most likely be your most used tool, it’s certainly the one I reach for 8/10 times. From cookie dough to pastry batter, it’s my go-to for pretty much everything I bake. 

When it comes to frosting, the flat beater is best used for the types of frosting that do not require much air beaten into them. When I am making buttercream frosting, the paddle attachment is the one I reach for. 

With buttercream, you want to cream the butter until it’s light and fluffy and you will only achieve this with the paddle attachment as it beats the butter around the bowl. When you start adding the icing sugar, the butter will start to thicken and the flat beater will incorporate the icing sugar evenly. Again, we aren’t trying to beat in any air, we are just trying to combine the icing sugar with the buttercream until it becomes silky smooth. I suggest gradually increasing the speed to 8, as this higher speed will guarantee a nicely integrated mix.

I am sure most bakers know how to make icing from butter and icing sugar, that said, If you are unsure, take a look at the KitchenAid buttercream frosting recipe here.

Flex Beater

Hands up who hates having to scrape down the side of the bowl after mixing? 🙋

I know I do.

If you don’t think a flex edge beater is worth it, just hear me out. The flex edge beater might look like a flat beater, but there is one major difference; that clever silicone edge.

This flexible edge scrapes the sides of the bowl as it rotates. Buttercream has the type of consistency that is bound to stick on the side of the bowl and one of my pet peeves is having to stop my mixer and scrape the bowl down. The silicone edge will pick up any residue of buttercream and mix it in with the rest, minimizing the need to scrape down the bowl after. 

Although this attachment doesn’t usually come standard with your mixer (except with some Artisan Mini models) but if you have the budget to splash out for extra attachments, I definitely suggest adding this one to your collection!

Balloon Whisk 

The balloon whisk will probably be your second most used KitchenAid attachment. It consists of 6 or 11 wires that all connect back to the main body of the whisk. When whipped at high speed, it forces air into the mixture, creating lots of air bubbles for a light and fluffy frosting.

When making frosting, the wire whip is best suited for certain types of frosting, like swiss meringue buttercream or whipped cream.

Swiss meringue buttercream is made by mixing up the sugar and egg whites over a bain-marie. Once the sugar has dissolved, the mixture is transferred to a bowl where the balloon whisk mixes at high speed causing the egg whites and sugar to increase in size.

It’s the wire whip pushing air into the mixture that makes the egg whites reach those distinctive soft, white, glossy peaks.  Similarly, heavy cream is beaten on high speed with the wire whip until it becomes stiff.

The balloon whisk is best used for beating heavy cream, eggs and egg whites into meringues. 

Pouring Shield

The 2 in 1 pouring shield and splash guard is a great tool to have as part of your KitchenAid stand mixer. It might not be a tool that is essential for making frosting, but it definitely makes the process smoother and less messy! 

The pouring shield has a chute that allows you to add your ingredients as the mixer is on. This is ideal when you are making buttercream as you can add the icing sugar bit by bit through the chute. 

Icing sugar also creates lots of clouds of sugar all around your kitchen. The pouring shield acts as a splash guard and stops any ingredients from flying out and making a mess in your kitchen and staining your clothes.

Although the pouring shield comes with most Artisan Series stand mixers, you might need to purchase this one separately.

KitchenAid Frosting FAQ’s

Got some KitchenAid frosting questions I haven’t covered? The common FAQ’s might answer your question!