Can You Use Your Food Processor To Mix Cake Batter? Here's What You Need To Know

A food processor isn't a tool you see recommended in many cake recipes, but when you want to whip up cake batter quickly it can start looking like a pretty good option. Because cake batter doesn't need as much work as bread and is more liquid than cookies, the go-to method is to simply mix it by hand. Folding the batter with a spatula or beating it with a whisk or wooden spoon are usually methods that do more than enough to evenly mix and hydrate the batter in just a few minutes. Still, mechanical assistance from a hand or stand mixer has its advantages, not just for time but also in being able to whip air into the batter, which can be helpful for a cake's rise and texture. But if you don't have those options, don't want to get them dirty, or just want to experiment with a new way of prepping, a food processor can help you mix cake batter.

The reason you don't see food processors suggested as much for cake is the danger of overmixing the batter. Compared to mixing by hand, or even a mixer on low or medium, food processors really work dough and batter hard. The more you work a batter with flour the more gluten bonds will strengthen, and cake batter that develops too much gluten will get tough and even risk collapsing in the oven. But you don't need to avoid food processors when making cake entirely, you just need to pick the right recipes and take it easy.

There is one type of recipe where food processors can be a particularly good choice for cake, which is ones that have hard-to-incorporate ingredients. For cakes that have solid items like nuts or chocolate chips that you want evenly distributed and chopped up a bit, the food processor's strong blades can work them in quickly. You can even chop them up in the processor first, then add the batter for an easier one bowl clean up. This trick also works well with shredded additions like carrots and coconut, as the processor can ensure that the finer slices get more evenly studded throughout the cake.

Additionally, wet batters with lots of eggs or butter, like pound cake, can work well in food processors because the blades help to quickly emulsify the mixture. In some cases like that the effort it takes to mix by hand will actually risk overworking the batter more than a processor.

Beyond those, almost any cake can be made in the bowl of a food processor, you just need to be attentive and hold back on running it too long. It's best to pulse the batter until it's fully incorporated, or run the blades for only a few seconds at a time. You'd be surprised just how fast a food processor can mix a wet dough. The machine's power is normally a positive, but power like that always needs to be handled with care.