You can mix a cake in a food processor, but you must also use short pulses as the powerful blades of the food processor spin much faster than a standard mixer.
If you overmix the cake mix it will develop gluten in the flour and result in a tough and dense cake, so you should only process the cake mix in the food processor only until the ingredients are just combined.
When you mix a cake in a food processor, ensure that you use the pulse function as short, controlled bursts give you the best control over the cake batter's texture.
Also fold the flour.
For the lightest crumb, mix the wet ingredients in the processor and then gently fold in your dry ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl.
And if you're following a specific food processor recipe, which is usually called the "all in one" method, make sure that your butter is also fully softened at room temperature to ensure that it blends in properly.
When using a regular mixer to mix cake batter, the attachment that you use to make cake is the flat beater or paddle attachment to mix the cake batter.
The flat batter or paddle mixer attachment is designed specifically to cream butter and sugar together and also thoroughly blend ingredients together without adding too much excess air.
For mixing standard cake batters, brownie mixes and thick frostings, the flat beater or paddle attachment is the best choice of mixer attachment.
The wire whip "whisk" should be used when whipping egg whites or heavy cream for light, airy sponge cakes, angel food cakes or stabilized whipped cream.
And the flex edge beater is a variation of the paddle attachment, which also features a flexible rubber edge and continuously scrapes the sides of the bowl as it mixes, which saves you from having to stop the mixer to scrape down the bowl manually.
The 3 main mixer attachments are the dough hook, the flat beater or paddle attachment and the wire whip or balloon whisk attachment.
Each of these 3 main mixer attachments serve their own specific purpose for your mixer, which ranges from aerating delicate liquids to kneading of heavy yeast dough's.
The dough hook mixer attachment is made and used to replicate the motion of dough kneading by hand, and the dough hook attachment for your mixer stretches and folds the dough to develop the gluten.
The mixers dough hook attachment is best for yeast doughs like pizza crust, bread, bagels and pasta dough.
When using the dough hook, you should always keep the mixer on a low speed, (often speeds 1 or 2) when using the dough hook attachment to prevent the motor from straining.
The flat beater mixer attachment also known as the paddle mixer attachment is the most versatile mixer attachment that is used for mixing of normal to heavy batters and also for combining ingredients thoroughly.
The mixers flat beater or paddle attachment is best for cake batters, cookie dough's, frostings, meatloaf and mashing of potatoes.
The flat beater or paddle attachment is also ideal for "creaming" butter and sugar together for baked goods.
And the wire whip or "Balloon Whisk" attachment for your mixer is used for incorporating air into light mixtures and creating volume.
Your mixers wire whip or balloon whisk attachment is best for whipping heavy cream, egg whites, meringues and light and airy frostings.
Just don't use the wire whip attachment of your mixer for heavy dough's or batters as the delicate wires can easily break or bend.
So make sure you use the correct mixer attachment for the specific ingredients you're mixing using your mixer for the best and proper outcome.