My Australian-made “Deluxe automatic Sunbeam Mixmaster mixer” dates from 1974. It was a wedding gift – without doubt one of the most useful and enduring gifts my husband Tony and I received all those years ago.
I purchased the mixmaster using part of the $100 my grandfather in Melbourne sent us (he was not well enough to travel to Rockhampton for our wedding). It cost $69.99.
In 1974 $100 was a lot of money – equivalent to about $920 today. So, at $69.99, my 1970s Sunbeam Mixmaster would cost around $643 today.
Interestingly, we used part of the balance of the $100 to purchase a Breville Milkshake Maker. The appliance came with three large plastic cups, each one a different colour (brown, beige, orange – colours of the 1970s). Unlike the mixmaster, the milkshake maker didn’t last 48 years. I recall it left our service after about 20 years.
In 1974, like me (newly married and setting up home for the first time), my Sunbeam Mixmaster was brand new, gleaming and keen to get to work. Everything functioned perfectly. My mixmaster and I (together) were ready and able to tackle any culinary project put to us. And did we live up to our expectations? Most certainly we did.
According to the manufacturer, the motor in my 1970s MX24561 Sunbeam Mixmaster was more powerful than that of Sunbeam’s earlier Australian-made models. It was also lighter in weight and easier to handle.
According to the Australian Food Timeline, the first Australian-made Sunbeam mixer, an American-designed product, came onto the Australian market in 1948. Like its earlier American iterations, the first dating from 1930, this mixer was unique in having two interlocking, detachable beaters and a revolving bowl.
The American-owned Sunbeam company produced its second model for the Australian market in 1950. This new model boasted automatic bowl-speed control as well as beater-speed control.
I remember my Auntie Dulcie having an electric mixer in the late 1950s and early 1960s (read Auntie Dulcie and the Bung-in Cake). Hers was one of these early model Sunbeam mixers.
By the 1970s, the Sunbeam company had perfected its product to the extent that the Sunbeam Mixmaster had become the most popular mixmaster on the Australian market.
My 1970s model was described as a “Kitchen Woodtone Mixmaster Mixer” and “the latest in modern kitchen appliances”. With its brown “woodtone” stand, handle and speed dial, it was designed to complement the typical 1970s woodtone kitchen.
My Sunbeam Mixmaster came with two bowls – one large, one small – made from heat resistant glass. They were shaped to match the beaters and had an inbuilt rim on the base which held them firmly on the bowl disc. There was a bowl shift lever at the left side of the base, clearly marked “LARGE BOWL” and “SMALL BOWL”. For correct mixing, the lever had to be set to the correct position. To move the lever, one simply pressed it down and moved it in either direction.
The lightweight bakelite bowl disc was shaped to fit the rim on the base of the bowls. The bowl disc was secured by inserting the spindle on its underside into the socket in the centre of the appliance stand.
Among the Sunbeam Mixmaster’s other features were its bowl-fit beaters, beater ejector, convenient tilt motor, portable motor (the motor and attached beaters can be used as a hand held appliance) and its wide speed range (0 – 12).
I still have the instruction and recipe book that came with my Sunbeam Mixmaster. Just like the mixmaster, it’s been an indispensable helpmate for more than 48 years. I consulted it often. You can tell how much it’s been used from its grease-spotted, yellowed and finger-marked pages.
During the 48+ years my Sunbeam Mixmaster and I laboured together, we produced hundreds, even thousands, of cakes, biscuits and desserts. I’ve calculated that, if I made one cake, batch of biscuits or dessert each week for 48 years, the number would be 2496!
Cakes
I often wonder how many times my mixmaster and I prepared the Bung-in Cake. Without doubt, it’s the cake I’ve made most often over the years. The recipe is so simple and versatile. Since 1974, I’ve used the Bung-in Cake recipe to make birthday cakes, patty cakes, lamingtons, pineapple upside-down cakes and apple tea cakes (to name a few).
Whenever I make the Bung-in Cake, I think of my late Auntie Dulcie and thank God for her. Little did she imagine when she gave me her recipe for the Bung-in Cake, just how often I would use it (read Auntie Dulcie and the Bung-in Cake).
Another cake I’ve made often in conjunction with my mixmaster is the Banana Yoghurt Cake (November 9, 2016). Like the Bung-in Cake, it’s super-easy to prepare. You put all the ingredients into the mixer bowl, blend thoroughly then beat at moderate to high speed for about 3 minutes. After that, all you have to do is pour the mixture into a prepared tin and bake.
Biscuits
Over the years, my mixmaster and I have produced a number of specialty biscuits that require whipped egg whites or meringue (whipped egg whites and blended sugar). Examples are Brotlaibchen, Zimtsterne (“Cinnamon Stars”) and Almond Bread (Biscotti). These three biscuit exemplars are Christmas treats, which I make in bulk in December each year to give as Christmas gifts to friends and family members. You’ll find the recipes for all three on my blog (click on the links).
Desserts
And how can I forget the many delicious desserts my mixmaster has helped me produce? They include pavlovas, cheesecakes, chocolate mousse, self-saucing puddings and various tarts or pies with a meringue topping. The best example of the latter is the subject of my daughter’s beautiful story Grandma’s Easy Lemon Meringue Pie (June 14, 2017) and accompanying recipe.
Today, my long-serving Sunbeam Mixmaster is not what it used to be. The end of the motor console has come apart (I’ve held it together with sticky tape for a number of years!). The motor leans forward, like a stooped old person. The beaters are bent beyond repair and no longer work in harmony. At high speeds, the whole apparatus rattles and shakes and makes an awful racket. Sadly, my faithful kitchen helpmate no longer functions as it once did.
In December last year, my daughter encouraged me to buy a new mixmaster. I reluctantly agreed. As their Christmas gift, she and her husband gave me money towards the purchase. I made up the balance. Allowing for inflation, I paid about the same amount for my new mixmaster ($595) as I paid for my Sunbeam Mixmaster in 1974 ($643). I bought the new appliance (a KitchenAid) on sale at a much-reduced price – it normally costs $795.
To date, I’ve used my grand, glossy white KitchenAid “Classic” a couple of times. It works well. But so it should. It’s brand new.
GALLERY
Grandson Lucas’ 3rd birthday cake: “Lucas’ Digger”.
Lovely to hear you enjoy cooking. My Mum had the old style Sunbesm Mix Master until she left Tomkins St. I always had a Kenwood Chef and mine burnt out in 2021. Nyree a Nb d I now share a Kenwood Chef but it is not as good as the old one. I enjoy cooking as well. I cook for my mahjong friends each week and I make a lot of jams and jellies. Last year I made over 100 bottles each of Grumechama Jelly and Mandarin Jam with no rind. I give these all away to my friends. I am pleased Margaret Flemming (Holbeck) saw your post and she thought I would be interested. Keep going with your cooking, regards, Pam
Dear Pam. How wonderful to hear from you and receive your feedback on my story. I’m pleased to hear we share a love of cooking. You are some jam/jelly maker! As well as cooking, I also write food stories. Have you taken a look at my website? You might enjoy some of my stories and recipes in the FOOD category: https://judithsalecich.com/category/food/ Let me know what you think. Many blessings, Judy.
A good recommendation Judy for Sunbeam Mixmaster’s. You certainly got some work out of it over the 48 years. Making numerous cakes tarts etc with the help of the mixmaster . Just imagine all the work you would have had to do by hand mixing the ingredients together. Nice picture of Tony posing with his birthday cake . I could not count all the candles haha also daughter Ruth 7th Birthday cake a Hickory Dickory Dock .Your Aunty Dulcie should also get a mention for passing on her Bung-In cake recipe. Keep on baking Judy Cheers.
Dear Maurie. I hadn’t thought of that! Yes, my Sunbeam Mixmaster has been a real treasure. I can’t imagine having to do all that work by hand! I’m glad you like Tony’s picture – he was in his late twenties then. Still so young. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and provide feedback. Bless you, Maurie.
Sincere condolences on the loss of your beloved Sunbeam!! I’m sure that I myself may have been on the receiving end of cake and biscuits made by that very machine at some point! My mum (you would remember her as Kathy Haseman) had a Kenwood Chef which I used to love to use myself when I was a kid… It sounded like an approaching tank and would distribute an even coat of flour over our beautiful orange 70s kitchen! I’m not quite sure where my mum’s ended up but I think of it often! My own less impressive set of electric kitchen beaters bought from the Tesco supermarket and dragged back from our stint of living in the uk – over 15 years ago! The converter plug (UK plug to AU plug) has only just given up. We put on a new plug… didn’t have the heart to retire them, as they too have seen many batches of biscuits and cakes for my own kids. Some food – and the tools we use to make it.. is just pure nostalgia!
Dear Wendy. Thank you for your condolences! Clearly you understand my loss. How lovely to hear from you and read your comments. I remember you and your mum well. Thank you for sharing about your experiences of the kitchen mixer and the complication of one purchased in the UK. I wish you well with all your future baking. Your mum was/is a good cook. I’m sure you must be one too! Hugs, Judy.
Wendy, I still have my 12-speed, Kitchen Woodtone Mixmaster Mixer – an engagement gift from my Grandad in 1974. It’s 50 years old in August and it still works perfectly. There is no damage to the milk glass bowls either because I looked after it well, but it’s not been used too much in the last 25 years since I returned to work, the kids grew into adults and I finally retired. Even since retiring I’ve not rescued it from the dark corner at the back of the corner cupboard in my kitchen, preferring to use a light-weight hand mixer when mixing anything has been required. Somehow though, I just can’t part with it. Each time I glimpse it in the darkness of that corner cupboard, it reminds me of a time when I was young and full of hope and enthusiasm and of course, my Grandad. He and my parents are long gone now but the memories of those years seem to leap from the bowl in that fleeting moment of seeing it each time I bend down to reach for something else from the cupboard.
Although it did see considerable service making birthday cakes for two kids over many years and some ever-reliable fruit cakes, I wasn’t a true baker like you are. I too was a teacher – Primary schools in Melbourne and although knew my way around a kitchen, I was never truly ‘in love’ with regular baking. Cooking for me was a functional duty, something I had to master for the everyday meals for family and the endless dinner parties we held at home during the 70s for friends, family and my husband’s business guests. It served me well back then and I continue to smile whenever I see it waiting patiently in the dark, in case I choose it the next time I open that cupboard.