Caroline's Cakes

Check out this article from Post and Courier featuring Caroline's Cakes in the movie 'The Help'!

2011-08-10T15:49:00.002-04:00

Baker's cake on the big screen in 'The Help'

A bit of beauty pageant mother came out in Caroline Ragsdale Reutter when she learned the new movie "The Help" was in the works.

Reutter set out to ensure her seven-layer caramel cake would get noticed and become the "star cake" in the film, which opens today. And with an abundance of Southern charm, she prevailed.

The South Carolina native, who was born in Charleston and grew up in Lake City, is the founder of the acclaimed bakery Caroline's Cakes in Annapolis, Md., where she and her husband have lived since the mid-1970s.

Much of the bakery's reputation is staked on the caramel cake, an old-fashioned version with burnt sugar icing that takes the better part of a day to make.

Reutter says the recipe itself took two years to perfect. "So I think I'm a little crazy. I could not let go until I conquered it, but I did. But Lord, don't make it on a rainy day."

Reutter first served the cake 29 years ago at her son's christening and realized she was on to something. She says an authentic caramel cake evokes a time when "that special recipe" was a badge of honor for women.

The secret lies in the burning of the sugar, an involved process that she says has been shortchanged in modern-day recipes. The true flavor "would be like patina is to wood," Reutter says.

"It's a taste that people gravitate toward. It brings back memories; I get this all the time. People say this more than they do in church: 'Omigod.' "Word of her cake spread and reached a milestone in 1991 when a financial institution ordered 2,000 for the holiday season. Caroline's Cakes now has nearly 120,000 names on its mailing list, including 7,000 in South Carolina.Reutter, an Ashley Hall graduate, found out that "caramel cake" was mentioned in six times in the novel "The Help" after it was published in 2009. She read the book, listened to the audio and then joined its Facebook fan page.

That's when she discovered a movie was to be made. Reutter sprang into action.

'The Help' Cake

The Terrace Theatre on James Island is hosting Caroline Ragsdale Reutter and her seven-layer caramel cakes before showings of "The Help" at 7, 7:45 and 9:40 p.m. Thursday in the lobby. Reutter will meet and greet moviegoers and sell caramel cakes by the slice or whole.

She shipped caramel cakes overnight to the 16 people she determined to be most closely connected to the movie. Then she was friended on Facebook by actress Octavia Spencer, who plays Minnie in the movie.

Reutter next shipped caramel cakes to a book signing of more than 570 people in Greenwood, Miss. The author, movie producers, writers and cast all were in attendance. Her cake got rave reviews.

Finally, she got the call she had been wanting: a prop person asked for eight cakes to be part of the movie.

While the cake isn't specifically credited to Caroline's Cakes, Reutter says she is thrilled just for it being included.

Meanwhile, she is working on a major business expansion in Spartanburg. Manufacturing and shipping will relocate into a 25,000-square-foot building next year. The move not only increases her space tenfold, but the more central location will shorten shipping times."And I got to come home," she says.Reutter, who already is living in the Upstate, plans a retail location there and eventually one in Charleston. Her family also will join her there.

Check out the article published in the Charleston City Paper about Caroline's in 'The Help'!

2011-08-10T15:48:00.002-04:00

Caroline's Cakes enjoy a cameo in The Help

When Caroline Ragsdale Reutter read Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel The Help, there was one character that stood out to her: the caramel cake. As the owner of Caroline's Cakes, home of the "world's best seven-layer caramel cake," Reutter felt a connection each time the dessert was mentioned. And when she got word that the book would be made into a movie, she knew that her cake had to make a cameo appearance.

Reutter took to the internet to find out everything she could about everyone connected with the film, which follows three very different women who build an unlikely friendship in 1960s Mississippi. She ended up shipping out more than a dozen cakes to people like Chris Columbus, Steven Spielberg, and executives at Dreamworks. Eventually, she hooked up with actress Octavia Spencer via Facebook. Once Spencer, who stars in the film as Minny, tried the cake, she loved it. Reutter then sent her cakes to a major book-signing event at Turnrow Books in Greenwood, Miss., which was attended by several of the film's producers and cast members. Not too long after that, Reutter was contacted by someone associated with the film about providing cakes to be used as props. She says you'll see the cake in a pivotal scene in which the maids tell Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, that they'll help her write a book.

The brief movie appearance is just one event in a series of successes that began for Reutter nearly 30 years ago when she served the cake at her son's christening. Friends raved about it, and Reutter discovered a new passion — not for baking, but for sharing her creations with strangers.

"I didn't realize what I was responding to, but I was responding to those few little minutes that we would visit and delight in the cake," Reutter says. "Hearing stories and memories that the cake was bringing back to people, because this is an over-100-year-old, time-honored recipe. The way I make this cake, not many people have the time or patience or know-how to make it like this anymore."

Reutter grew up making the cake — and many other recipes — while visiting her grandmother in Charleston, where she attended Ashley Hall.

"A lot of people did this recipe because wives were always at home, there was always help in the kitchen, and there was time to make it," she says. "It is temperamental, from the ingredients that go into it to how you handle the ingredients to the atmosphere around the pot as the ingredients are cooked and taken through the process." The recipe is a descendant of a doberge torte, which has strong ties to Hungary, France, and New Orleans.

Reutter started making cakes out of a test kitchen in her basement and eventually moved into a larger space in Annapolis, Md. She's in the process of moving her operations back south to Spartanburg. A retail shop will remain in Maryland, and Reutter plans to open a space in Charleston as well. Besides the seven-layer caramel cakes, she sells five other varieties of caramel cakes (like Carrot Caramel Delight and Praline Cake), as well as chocolate, lemon, red velvet, and many other flavors of cakes and cupcakes.

In honor of the premiere of The Help, Reutter is partnering with the Terrace Theatre to serve slices of her cake to movie-goers on Thurs. Aug. 11.

"I would call this event taking it to the seventh layer," Reutter says. "We always say when we hit something big like this that we've taken it to the seventh layer, and that's what we always achieve to do."

Caroline's Cakes is in Home Town Annapolis! Check out the article!

2011-08-10T15:47:00.000-04:00

Local business' cake featured in 'The Help'

Baking a seven-layer caramel cake, a traditional Southern confection, is anything but, well, a piece of cake.

Courtesy photoCaroline Ragsdale-Reutter, the owner of Caroline's Cakes, poses with one of her signature caramel creations. The cake is featured in the movie "The Help," which opens in theaters Wednesday.

Not only is it an all-day process, but outside factors like the weather can quickly turn the cake from a scrumptious treat into a sticky mess, said Caroline Ragsdale-Reutter, owner of Caroline's Cakes in Annapolis. "If it's too humid, the caramel won't do what it's supposed to do," Ragsdale-Reutter said. "There are times when I've ended up with caramel slush."

But that must not happen too often, if Ragsdale-Reutter's fan base is any indication. The Annapolis woman counts Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jackie Collins and Marvin Hamlisch as some of the more famous of her 100,000 customers.Now, the dessert has really gone Hollywood.

Ragsdale-Reutter's creation will take center stage in the movie "The Help," which opens in theaters nationwide Wednesday. The movie, starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, is based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett. Set in Jackson, Miss., it's the story of black maids working in white households in the early 1960s. One of the maids' specialties is a caramel layer cake."There's this line in the book - that when you sat at my grandmother's table and ate a piece of her caramel cake, you knew it was baked with love," Ragsdale-Reutter said. "A caramel cake with good, smooth caramel icing, that was such a badge of honor in the South."

Her caramel cake has been featured on "The Today Show" and The Food Network, but its spot in "The Help" is its debut on the silver screen.Ragsdale-Reutter, a fan of the book, read online last year that DreamWorks Studios was producing the movie. "The caramel cake is mentioned in the book about seven times," she said. "I immediately started Googling."

A spokesman for DreamWorks was unavailable for comment, but Ragsdale-Reutter said she shipped 16 cakes with press kits to studio officials, figuring she might as well try. Her move paid off. "We got three to five minutes on screen," Ragsdale-Reutter said. "In the movies, that's a long time."She couldn't buy better advertising, said Jack Gerbes, director of the Maryland Film Office."People everywhere are going to want to know where that cake is from," Gerbes said.

A native of Lake City, S.C., Ragsdale-Reutter grew up eating her mother's caramel cake. In 1982, when her son Richard was christened, Ragsdale-Reutter served a caramel cake that her mom brought from home.

"People just started going bananas for it," she said.

Word of mouth spread, and soon Ragsdale-Reutter was selling the cakes to friends as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. At first, Ragsdale-Reutter worked with a baker in South Carolina, Then the baker became ill, and she had to decide whether to continue with the business. It wasn't a hard decision to make."I was just so passionate about it," Ragsdale-Reutter said. "It's a difficult recipe to achieve correctly. But I wanted to keep alive a time-honored recipe that was dying."

For years, she ran the business out of the basement of her Annapolis home, baking the caramel cakes along with other layer cakes - chocolate, coconut and lemon, to name a few. Most of her signature cakes have seven layers.

"Seven really is the most perfect number in the universe," Ragsdale-Reutter said. "Some people make the cakes with 10, 14 layers, but I think that's almost like protesting too much.

"The turning point for Caroline's Cakes came in 2000, when Ragsdale-Reutter got a call from a Palm Beach, Fla. financial services company. Its officials had heard about the caramel cakes from a friend of Ragsdale-Reutter's, and they wanted to buy 2,000 of them to give out as holiday gifts. A few years later, Ragsdale-Reutter moved the business out of her home and into a 2,500-square-foot storefront in the Bay 50 shopping plaza near the Bay Bridge. A year later, she opened the second part of her business, Caroline's Gourmet Take it Away, a catering service a few doors down from the Caroline's Cakes headquarters.

The business really took off around then, said Ragsdale-Reutter's son Richard, now 30 and working for his mother full-time. And the caramel cake still reigns as the shop's most popular dessert. "Even if you combine all our other cake sales - the caramel still just dwarfs it," he said. Like her other customers, Ragsdale-Reutter's high-profile fans discovered her cakes through word of mouth. Veteran TV actress Louis-Dreyfus, for example, is originally from Montgomery County; her mother comes into the shop frequently, Ragsdale-Reutter said. "The celebrity following, it just kind of happens by surprise," said Laura Strawberry, Ragsdale-Reutter's marketing coordinator. "They just find us.

Caramel Cake From 'The Help': A Taste of Southern Charm

2011-07-19T09:30:00.000-04:00

The 20/20 team samples caramel cake featured in "The Help". (ABC News)

By VICKI CHEN

July 15, 2011

Forks at the ready, the ABC News "20/20" team dug into its final task before airing Friday's episode featuring bestselling book and soon-to-be movie "The Help": seven layers of traditional Southern-style caramel cake.
The treat came courtesy of Caroline's Cakes, the Annapolis, Md.-based bakery that provided several caramel cakes that were used as props in the upcoming feature film.

"Caramel cake is so Southern and so traditional," said Laura Strawberry of Caroline's Cakes. "Southern style is about making connections, and food has a way of always bringing people together." Caroline's Cakes saw caramel cake orders increase after "The Help" started flying off bookstore shelves and as anticipation built for the film's release.
ABC News' Deborah Roberts said the caramel cake reminded her of her own Southern roots and served as a perfect way to wrap up the experience of producing the episode.
"The caramel cake was like a taste of home for me," Roberts said. "It was delectable and satisfying in the sweet, moist, beautiful way that caramel cakes are. There's nothing like a multi-layer cake to wrap up a story with many layers."
Watch the full story about "The Help" on "20/20."

Caroline's Cakes Hits the Big Screens!

2011-07-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

By WENDI WINTERS, For The Capital

Published 07/11/11

Caroline Ragsdale Reutter really loves the new DreamWorks movie "The Help." It debuts in local theaters later this summer. Yet, Caroline has already seen an advance screening. "It's such a great story," she enthused.
She also read the best-selling book, "The Help," by Kathryn Stockett, cover to cover. One thing made her sit up: The book mentions caramel cake six times.
Caroline, a native South Carolinian, knows her way around a seven-layer caramel cake. It's her signature and piece de resistance at Caroline's Cakes, the small shop with big ideas at Jamal's Bay 50 Shopping Center on Route 50 East. Every holiday season, Caroline ships over 50,000 of these yummy cakes all over the U.S. A specialty of hers, she went into the cake-making business after folks raved about her seven-layer caramel cake at a family party.
When she learned a movie was going to be made from the book, Caroline began doing some Internet research. She eventually lobbied over a dozen people involved with the movie to feature her caramel cake in the movie. 'Course, it's hard to say "no" with a mouthful of Caroline's cake.
In response to a request from the movie's prop department, eight caramel cakes were sent to the movie set in Mississippi to "audition" for the roll… er, role. It appears in a pivotal scene of "The Help" where several maids inform Skeeter they are going to help her write her book.
So, "The Help" may be the first movie where a "star" was devoured - for a good cause.
And, if just staring (and drooling) at the cake on the big screen isn't enough, get over to Caroline's for your very own movie star cake.
The website is www.carolinescakes.com.

Check out Caroline's Speech at the Arts and Antiques Show in Spartanburg

2011-06-09T08:52:00.000-04:00

Caroline was asked to speak at the Arts and Antiques show in Spartanburg SC in Feburary. Check out the speech that she prepared for the group who attended the show!!

I would like to thank the Spartanburg Art Museum Committee for inviting me here today. It is a delight to be in Spartanburg, have the opportunity to move my business, Caroline’s Cakes, here and meet so many of you. I have already begun to understand why everyone I have met is so very happy living here…It is indeed ‘Sparkle City.’

As I prepared for this moment and took time to reflect on what has happened in this part of my life, in this life as a ‘Cake Lady’ I realized that much of the reason I am here today is because of people; their encouragement, their support, their sometimes unexpected friendship and my desire to please everyone of them.....everyone of you......

I looked back over the past 29 years and realized that on that Sunday so many years ago, when I served the first Caramel Cake in Annapolis, MD, at my youngest son’s christening, what I did not know was that I was beginning a journey like no other. A journey that would lead me to understand all that it takes to ‘Take it to the 7th Layer.’

The early years of making and selling my cakes were the years I threw so much random energy into everyday, and I must admit not a lot of thought. The response I was getting from my friends and customers, the compliments, the continuing encouragement, just fed my soul.

It sounds so simple, but I have come to believe this is what we all need, to find something to feed our soul. Well, I liked this feeling, in fact I craved this feeling, so I drove harder and harder to do all those things that would keep all of you feeding my ole soul.....and in that, I discovered my passion.....to please and to take care of others, to share with others and listen, just for that moment.........it sounds so simple, but, I have learned that discovering ones passion is the most important thing one can do on this journey of life........and on my journey, ‘Taking it to the 7th Layer!’

And this remarkable little cake, this 7-Layer Caramel Cake was the vehicle that was allowing me to live my passion every day.

Then there were the memories that were being awaken of times past by just the taste of my Caramel Cake.

As my Caramel Cake began to be shipped across the country, phone calls and emails were coming in every week thanking me for making this cake and bringing back memories of childhood, memories of family gatherings, of forgotten celebrations, and of forgotten times. I remember driving up to see my son, Richard, play in a squash tournament in New Haven, CT. We had stopped in a little sandwich shop in CT, when my cell phone rang. It was Paul, from Houston, TX. After hearing about the Caramel Cake of his childhood over and over again, his fiancee had finally gone to the Internet searching for Caramel Cake and found my Caroline’s Cakes information page. She shared it with a very surprised, Paul, who called me immediately, to exclaim that after reading about my 7-Layer Caramel Cake, he just knew that this was the cake of his youth. Upon receipt of his cake, and a moment to taste, he called to say, ‘Caroline, you do not understand, I am 67 years old, and I have not had this cake since I was 9 years old at Aunt Bessie’s in Tupelo, MS. You have brought back so many memories. I thought I would never have this taste again. I can not tell you what you have done for me!’

WOW!.....I call that ‘Taking it to the 7th Layer!’

And then there was Eleanor, from Wilmington, NC, who had purchased a Caramel Cake at one of the benefit shows I participate in. Eleanor wrote to me in an email, ‘I froze the cake for my own birthday. I could have eaten the whole cake but was gracious enough to share with my neighbors, my daughter and my husband. This cake reminded me of my grandmother’s cake, which I have not had since she passed away 10 years ago. What memories it brought! Thank you for making a typical Monday Birthday awesome with great memories!’

And from Mrs. Maney of Augusta, GA, ‘I received your Caramel Cake as a gift for my 70th birthday. I must tell you this is the very best caramel cake I’ve ever had (I hope Mother, who is in Heaven, is not listening!). Thank you for making my birthday so very special!

Those were the days when I was making the cakes in the kitchen of our first home. I would set them out on the bench on my front porch tagged with your name, and a zip-lock bag under the doormat with change for you to leave your check or payment in. If I was home, I would enjoy brief visits with friends and customers as they would come to pick up their cakes.

Then we moved to the home where we live now, in Annapolis, MD. I placed a freezer in the garage with one of my shipping tins, labelled ‘THIS IS THE BIG RED TIN,’ sitting on top of the freezer for payment. Cakes would be tagged in the freezer for pick up, and so my customers would come and go.

In 1999, I received a corporate order from US Trust Company, out of Palm Beach, FL, for 2000 Caramel Cakes to be shipped out for them that Christmas Season. Fortunately, the request came in April, giving me time to find a larger Bakery to make my Caramel Cakes. I worked diligently with this Bakery for 14 months, finally understanding why big bakeries do not make old-fashioned caramel and realizing how much I knew about caramel, from all those years of my youth, making caramel, taffy, and caramel popcorn balls with my grandmother in Charleston.

Those things we take for granted!

So I immediately put in the most beautiful commercial kitchen and office for Caroline’s Cakes in the basement level of my home, pulled the operation out of the larger bakery and began making the cakes in my own kitchen. UPS would pick the cakes up at the garage or just come into the house and down to the “corporate headquarters” of Caroline’s Cakes to get the late shipments coming in.

Looking back on those unbelievable days. I was figuring out how best to package the cakes. How to find the appropriate coolers. What kind of coolant I was to use. How to maintain a customer contact list. How to find the right ingredients in larger quantities. Driving all over the universe to pick everything up. Coming back from the tin manufacturer with boxes of tins in the back of the car, in the front seat and tied to the top of the car........I must have been a sight..........and then I had those magnetic signs made for the sides of my car.........so everyone knew who I was.........there goes that ‘Cake Lady.’.........

I would be tearing down the road and the passengers in the car next to me would call the telephone number on my magnetic signs, get the answering machine at the “corporate headquarters” of Caroline’s Cakes, which would give you my cell number, call me as we were riding neck and neck up or down the interstate, waving back and forth at each other.....and they would start giving me an order. Not the safest way to take an order, nor is it something I am necessarily proud of, but it was part of the journey........and I really did not even know I was on it!

The Holiday Season of 2002 was a real turning point for me in this business of Caroline’s Cakes. For the first time I began to have my packaging and some of my ingredients delivered to my gargage........my warehouse. I will never forget when the first delivery of tins arrived. I had given the driver directions to our home and walked out to greet him as he began to back..... an 18 wheeler down my driveway.......OMG......What!.....Oh, My! Then came the 18 wheeler full of flour, sugar and baking supplies. Then two sometime three UPS trucks a day. At my home!

In my neighborhood! Whew! Frantic, but calm, calls to the neighbors were made, apologizing for this intrusion into our neighborhood, and letting them know I had found a place to move the business in the coming year. Fortunately, all of my neighbors thought it was sort of funny, and entertained me with many of their observations of my comings and goings in the past year as the word of Caroline’s Cakes slowly spread across the country.

In that first “corporate headquarters” of Caroline’s Cakes, and during the last Christmas Season in that location, Randall of the Food Network discovered my Caramel Cake. His grandmother had passed away that year and he was facing the first Holiday Season without her and without her Caramel Cake. He realized that he had really never seen Caramel Cakes for sale and began searching on the Internet, where he found my little information page. We had the most delightful conversation, about his grandmother, his memories and his delight in finding my Caramel Cake. It was not until the end of that conversation that I learned he was with the Food Network. We made plans to stay in touch.

The Food Network filmed Caroline’s Cakes for the very last Food Finds segment, Southern Country Classics. It aired for the first time on January 18, 2005, and was shown a total of 7 times over the next several years.

On November 3, 2003, Caroline’s Cakes moved into their new “corporate headquarters” in an abandoned shopping center out near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I had begun to participate in more benefit shows on the East Coast, pulling my Wells Cargo trailer with my chest freezers full of Caramel Cakes. We were all over NC, VA, MD as far north as NY and as far West as Chicago and Milwaukee. Setting up my booth, putting out my samplings of my cakes, meeting my customers, being discovered by others, and selling my cakes out of the freezers. Plus, giving back a percentage of our sales to the different causes, What a Win-Win! 2003 was the first year we really exploded!

I remember having so many shipments going out that Holiday Season that we had to wipe the front retail counter clean and use it as a second shipping station. The end of January I received this email. It sort of tells the tale of that first season in our new “corporate headquarters:”

Dear Caroline,

We were given for Christmas your Caramel Cake. I have tried many of these from all around and yours was far and away the finest thing of its kind I have ever eaten (and I have over 50 years of practice). Tonight my wife came home from a meeting and retrieved another item of yours from the garage refrigerator, a big block of “Extra Sharp Vermont Cheddar.” Try as she might, hungry as she was, she was unable to cut into it. After three knives were tested, closer inspection was required. Plain plastic wrap, check. Plain paper label, check, simple wax coating, check. Scrape away the wax and what have we here? A block of Extra Hard Vermont Pine!! On the bottom a simple little label, heretofore unnoticed reads: “Wooden Dummy #1 Classic.” We hesitate to ask my cousin if this is what he intended, his sense of humor not quite as ours. He is of the formal variety, quite proper. But I wouldn’t like to think this went by at your shop if not under management’s control.

Horrified, I called Bill, sent him a 2# block of our Vermont Cheddar, and thanked God for his sense of humor.

You see, our 1# dummy weighs the same as our 1# cheese, so one of our part-timers inadvertenly packed the sample dummy, which sat on the front counter as advertisement.

As the years passed in our new location, I began to learn all those things that are important in running a business, but have nothing to do with a cake. How to be a boss and not everyone’s friend was my most difficult hurdle. Where I had found my passion in pleasing others and having them touch my life I had also begun to experience the difficulty of what it meant to find the right people to sit in the right seats on my bus. Then learning to set expectations for those who worked for Caroline’s Cakes, encourage my team as I learned how to tightened up a growing company and turn-key every aspect in it.

And then there was harnessing my energy and harnessing my creative ideas.

Getting out on the road, meeting so many wonderful people across our great country, putting the faces to customers I had talked to for years continues to feed my soul and carry me on this ride that I was to realize was, in fact, my journey to the 7th Layer.

We now have an assortment of signature cakes that we sell all year long and are developing seasonal cakes that we sell only at certain times of the year. Our deli, which is another evolution, without an initial plan, has begun shipping many of our savory items as our customers have requested that we ship those items to their family and friends.

We have adorable little customers who mail in their checks for their cakes, with the dearest notes, thanking us for all we have done for them and for the nice conversation they had with one of my girls when they called.

And we have customers so many of you have heard of. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a long time customer. She recently sent

a Caramel Cake to Narcisco Rodriguez thanking him for the dress he designed for her for The Globe Awards.

Bunny Williams and John Rosselli have been customers of for years. Bunny so nicely spotlighted us in her BeeLine newsletter in the last two years. She and John also opened us up to a very special Hollywood group: Tita Cahn, the wife of the late Sammy Cahn, Angie Dickinson, Jackie Collins, The Poitiers, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Nicholson.........

Steven Colbert, Oscar de la Renta, the late Bob Hope Chris O’Donnel, John C McKinnley, Barbara Streisand, Carolyne Roehm...............It has been served on Air Force One...thanks to Doro Bush. And Lou Holtz of the Gamecocks.

One of my favorite customers of note, with whom I have spoken countless times on the phone is Marvin Hamlisch.

Last summer I travelled to Jackson, WY to participate in a benefit show for their Conservation Alliance. The very first customer in our booth, saw our sign inviting one and all to join us on our Facebook Fan Page. I shared with her that we had only been building this social media networking platform for the past 6 months and were delightfully surprised that Peter Duchin had become a fan. I have no idea why I said this! She retorted, ‘You know, another famous musician is in the valley performing tomorrow night, Marvin Hamlisch. My jaw dropped.......Marvin Hamlisch........I know Marvin Hamlisch. He has been a customer for years, he has told me when I am doing things right, what I should correct and on and on about how incredible my Caramel Cake is. We left a message at the music center that I was also in the valley and would love the opportunity to meet Marvin. With that Shelley, his assistant called back.....equally in awe that we were all getting to meet after so many ‘Caramel Cake years.’ Long story short....I purchased 3 seats on the front row in the sold out auditorium of over 600 people....my hostess, a friend and I went with a bag full of Caroline’s items, including a Caramel Cake, of course. Shelly found me at intermission and took me across the stage to the Green Room to meet Marvin. I told him I had a Caramel Cake for him and he invited the three of us back to their hotel, because his wife, Terri wanted to meet me!!!!!! Well, the second half of the show, Marvin stood up and spoke to the audience saying, ‘I make it a point never to promote a product, but I have learned that tonight the lady that makes my favorite food in the world is here, Caroline, of Caroline’s Cakes. She makes the best Caramel Cake in the World.....come up here Caroline..... (the longest walk of my life)......let me tell you how good this cake is.....we could have World Peace if we used this Caramel Cake. If we sat the Israels on one side of the table and everyone that did not like the Israels on the other side of the table and served them one slice of Caroline’s Caramel Cake.......and said to them you may not have another piece until you make World Peace, we would have World Peace!!!

That same week, Katie Couric ordered two cakes for her father’s 91st birthday and our Caramel Cake was served to a sold out book signing of Kathryn Stockett’s book, The Help, to over 500 people in Greenwood, MS. All of the producers, cast,

screenwriters and Kathryn Stockett were there. It was a week my stars certainly were aligned.

As I begin the planning stage of our build-out and meet so many new people here in Sparkle City, I am constantly asked,

Why Spartanburg? Well, about 5 years ago I received a call from one of Spartanburg’s biggest fans and supporters.

He knew of my business through a vacation visit with my Mother and his cousin. Kindly he called me to say he knew much about my business, that I was trying to expand and he felt Spartanburg would be a good fit for Caroline’s Cakes and for me. With that inspiration I began to put Spartanburg on my path home driving around on my own, sometimes catching up with old classmates and friends and just getting a feel for the area. One of my greatest concerns was shipping. So I compared the Annapolis UPS shipping map to the Spartanburg UPS shipping map, looking at the coverage for our one and two day ground shipments. That pretty much helped me make the decision, As I discovered that shipping from Spartanburg I could ship to every state East of the Mississippi and 6 states West of the Mississippi 1-2 days ground. This was a huge convenience for my customers and to our company.

As I begin the process of moving Caroline’s Cakes to Spartanburg, I am over-whelmed by the opportunities in our future. There is much work to be done, many cakes to bake, customers to take care of and so many more people to meet.

All part of my journey, ‘Taking it to the 7th Layer!’

Caroline's Cooking Demonstration!

2011-05-23T09:12:00.003-04:00

Click here to view all of Caroline’s pictures of her cooking demonstration at her alma mater, Ashley Hall in Charleston, SC!

Or go to our Fan page at: www.facebook.com/CarolinescakesUSA.com

Celebrate Caroline's Birthday all Month Long!

2011-03-02T13:26:00.004-05:00

March Madness!
To Celebrate Caroline's Birthday

March 13th
We are offering our

7-layer Caramel Cake

at 13% off

for the entire month of March!!!!!

(Applies to 7-Layer Caramel Cakes shipped between March 1st and March 31st 2011.)

and
introducing our Beautifully Decorated
Spring Cake:

Spring's a-Poppin'!

The First Signs of Spring are Here!

We have decorated our Spice Cake with the beautiful Daffodils and Violets that are now out in bloom!

This Cake is filled with alternating layers of Vanilla Butter Cream and our famous Caramel. The Cake is then iced in our Vanilla Butter Cream and decorated with our beautiful

Daffodils and Violets.

It's not too late to send a sweet treat for your sweet heart!

2011-02-08T14:10:00.005-05:00

"Be Mine!"

Will you 'Be Mine' this Valentines Day? This heart-shaped cake will surely seal the deal! Made with our Chocolate Cake with alternating Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Cream filling, this Cake is then iced in Pink Vanilla Butter Cream and decorated with a whimsical design of red hearts.

"A Ring of Roses"

This beautiful Cake decorated with red and pink roses will be the perfect way to say 'I Love You' this Valentine's Day.
Made with our Chocolate Cake and filled with alternating Chocolate Butter Cream and Chocolate Ganache.
It is iced with our European Vanilla Butter Cream.

Dark Chocolate Covered Pecans

Our Dark Chocolate Double dipped Pecans are the perfect gift for your loved ones this Valentine's Day!
Using our Mammoth Pecans and the finest Dark Chocolate,
these sweet treats will be hard to put down!

Sinfully Chocolate

Four layers of rich chocolate cake are filled with Chocolate Ganache and iced with our incredible Southern Chocolate Fudge Icing. Chocolate lovers agree; if there were a "good sin" this would be it.

News from the Bakery

2011-01-19T12:25:00.004-05:00

January is zooming by here at the Bakery!

It is so wonderful to be in a new year with new opportunities and always new cakes to be baked.

After the unfortunate event of our oven going down for two shifts on December 18, we worked like mad to catch up. It was just devastating. With only four days to go it was an impossible feat. So we spent the two weeks following December 25, calling all of you who did not receive your orders.Thank you to the many of you who were so very understanding and comforted us. We needed your kind words to pick us up and keep us going. It would have been a perfect Season if this had not happened.

So what does one do when such a disaster occurs? How does one plan not to have it happen again? Well, for one, you always must have one more oven than you need. And, you need space for that oven.

So, I did what anyone, who is always striving to 'do-it-right.' would do...........
I bought a much, much larger building to move the business to. Yes, I did!

By this time next year we will be baking and shipping all of our cakes out of Spartanburg, SC. Our Bakery storefront here in Annapolis will stay open and continue to serve the local following we have so enjoyed here.

It will be the most intense year of my life as I juggle Annapolis and Spartanburg and strive to build out a Bakery with stronger systems to insure we always have a back up.

All my decisions lead back to you, how to best take care

of your needs and how to make you happy.

So here goes...........chin up.........nothin' to it but to do it!

Thank you for your continuing support,

Caroline
Caroline Ragsdale Reutter
Caroline's Cakes

A great time at Sandy Point Seafood Festival!

2010-09-14T11:22:00.006-04:00

Thank you to all of those who made it out last weekend to the Seafood Festival at Sandy Point! The bands were hopping, the beer was flowing and the seafood was tasty! Many long time followers of our Bakery and Deli stopped by to pick up our mini cupcakes and slices of our Famous Caramel Cake to take home. They all demanded that we serve our Famous Lobster Rolls, Crab Cakes and Crab Soup next year! Who would have thought that so many of you that live so close have not yet heard of Caroline's, but then this IS a BIG area and we are out by the Bay Bridge. We love to spread the word of the Cakes we ship nationwide and our adorable decorated Cakes and Cupcakes for local pick-up as well as our fantastic Gourmet food!

Next stop.....Charlottesville, Virginia for Martha's Market in October! Hope to see you there!

-Caroline's Cakes

Join Caroline's Cakes at the 43rd Annual Seafood Festival!

2010-09-07T17:19:00.007-04:00

Caroline's Cakes will be offering our adorable "seafood" themed Mini-Cupcakes this weekend at the Maryland Seafood Festival! These bite sized treats will be available in Vanilla, Chocolate and Red Velvet iced with our smooth Vanilla Butter Cream. We invite everyone to stop by Sandy Point State Park for great seafood, great fun and fantastic dessert!

The weekend festivities are on Friday, September 10th and Saturday, September 11th on 11:00am to 9:00pm and Sunday, September 12th 11:00am to 7:00pm

Sandy Point State Park

1100 East College Parkway

Annapolis MD, 21409

410-974-2149

Visit online and pick up your ticket at: http://mdseafoodfestival.com/

2010-09-02T16:32:00.001-04:00

Check out our September Newsletter!
http://ping.fm/mpoIV

Have Cakes Will Travel!

2010-07-28T15:52:00.002-04:00

For the fifth consecutive year Caroline’s Cakes will be bringing their famous cakes to Jackson, WY, to help raise money for The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. Every year the JHCA pulls together exclusive vendors from around the country for a three day shopping event. All vendors donate a percentage of their proceeds back to the JHCA for their work protecting our wildlife and open space, managing growth responsibly and providing workforce housing.

Caroline’s Cakes has participated in many fundraising events for many different organizations including grants for botanists researching the environment, half-way houses for women, schools for troubled children as well as Breast Cancer Research. Caroline’s has given back over $30,000.00 a year in its effort to support causes they believe in and continue to give back as they market their wonderful products.

The event is located on the grounds of the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club in Jackson, WY. The dates and times are: August 4, 5 & 6, 2010, from 10a – 6p.

Come out and support this unique, fun event in support of The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance.

Come Join Us at the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival!

2010-07-20T17:25:00.002-04:00

Caroline's Cakes will be participating in the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival! We will have samples of our delicious Cakes, Low Country Dip and Carolina Plantation Peanuts. Go to http://www.harrahs.com/acfoodandwine/ to check out the event. We hope to see you there!

	July 30 at 8:00pm -10:00pm July 31st at 12:00pm-3:00pm and 4:00pm-7:00pm August 1st at 12:00pm-3;00pm

Location	Bally's Hotel, 6th Floor Park Place and the Boardwalk (1900 Pacific Ave.)

13 Percent off Caramel Cakes!

2010-03-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

For Caroline's Birthday, March 13th, we are having a special on our 7 Layer Caramel Cake. For the month of March we are offering 13 percent off our 7 Layer Caramel Cake!

Watch us on The Today Show!

2009-11-10T13:36:00.003-05:00

Here is a clip of our segment with Giada on The Today Show!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33826472#33826472
We have all been so busy today with so much positive response.

2009-11-09T18:11:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow morning tune your televisions to your local NBC station and watch the Today Show! Why? Because Caroline's will be featured on one of the show's daily segments!

What a great way to kick off the Holiday ordering season! We don't know exactly when the segment will air, or what will be said, so tune in and set your DVR's!

Pick up the latest issue of Maryland Life!

2009-11-06T10:45:00.004-05:00

Maryland Life magazine stopped in our bakery for a visit and featured us in their November/December 2009 issue. It is so great to see our wonderful winter themed cupcakes on the front cover! The featured article tells about how Caroline's Cakes has taken it to the Seventh Layer! There are also recipes for our yellow cupcakes, fresh lemon curd filling and our Chocolate Mousse.
YUM!!
I am going to be in The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show
November 7th and 8th, so stop by if you are in the area!
I love going to shows and bringing our store front all across the country!
We are going to have samples of our Famous Signature Cakes
and you can even pick one up there too.
We also are going to bring some of our Caroline's Decorated cakes, Cupcakes
and some fun gift items!
You can pick up tickets at:
http://www.metrocooking.com/2009DC/tickets/index.html
or call at 888.695.0888
I Hope to see you there!

Coming To Virginia Oct 9-11th!

2009-10-02T10:21:00.004-04:00

Hey Y'all! Just wanted to remind everyone that I will be at Martha's Market again this year. This is one of my favorite shows to do, and I always look forward to it. There will be over 65 vendors this year!

I will of course have my wonderful cakes available for sale as well as some of my favorite gifts and edible goodies. I highly recommend you come out to grab samples and try our Soon-To-Be-Famous Low Country Dip. You'll be hooked from the moment you try!

Martha's Market helps support the Martha Jefferson Hospital Women's Committee. Since the inception of the market 16 years ago, this fantastic group of women volunteers have raised over $3 million for breast health, technology, heart disease and community outreach programs. Funds also help sponsor the Cancer Research Center and Breast Health Days which provides free screenings and Mammograms for women of the community.

Martha's Market will be held this year at the John Paul Jones Arena on the beautiful campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Tickets are just $5.00 and U of V students and kids under 10 are admitted free.

The Market will be open on Friday, October 9th from 9:30am–7pm; Saturday, October 10th from 10am–6pm; and Sunday, October 11th from 10am-4pm. Complimentary Coat and Package check are available. Gourmet Lunch is also available for a fee.

For more information, contact the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation at 434-982-8285.

Hope to see everyone there!

Grab Your Shades!

2009-09-29T14:57:00.004-04:00

Summer is officially over, but not here at Caroline's! We already miss summer, and so we've decided to bring it back with our Coconut Lime Cake!

We've baked one final batch just for you! And to make it special, we're offering FREE SHIPPING!

If you haven't had the opportunity to try our Coconut Lime cake, now is the perfect chance! We start with four layers of our moist yellow cake and fill between the layers with our own Lime Curd filling. The cake is then iced with our Fresh Coconut Icing. You will be dancing to the beat of Summer in no time!

Give us a call and mention this blog to receive free shipping. The cake must ship by October 14th, 2009. Cannot be combined with other products or offers. This deal is not available online, you must call us at 888-801-2253 Mon - Sat 8:30 - 6:30 EST.

2009-09-18T15:46:00.004-04:00

Caroline's Cakes is proud to support We Heart This' Race For The Rescues, a non profit charity that helps Los Angeles County area shelters. We are teaming up with We Heart This' Raffle in which the proceeds will help Race For The Rescues. Visit We Heart This to enter for your chance to win one of their fabulous prize packages!
Simply visit their donation page, make a donation ($5 increments). Each $5.00 donation (or get 5 for $20.00) gets you a ticket for the donation. Forward your confirmation email and your entered! There are Ten great prize packages up for grabs!

And if you will be at the Race, wait and buy your raffle tickets there! First 200 people who make a $20.00 donation will receive a special gift bag worth over $100!

The Race For The Rescues is a 5K walk/run in the L.A. Area. This race supports A Dog's Life Rescue, Animal Alliance, Best Friends Animal Society, Four Legged Friends Foundation, Molly’s Mutts & Meows, Stray Cat Alliance & The Rescue Train. Bring yourself, your friends, family, and your furry friends! Dogs on leashes will be allowed to participate. And stick around after for Awards, a Celebrity Auction, Rescue Fashion Show, activities for both kids and dogs, vendors and more!

Held near the South end of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.
Race Day: Sunday, October 4th 8:30-10:30am.
Cost: $30.00 participation fee for Adults
Kids (12 and under) $18.00 1 Mile walk/run. Every child will receive a medal!
(Late fees apply after 9/20/09)

Pet Adoptions from the Pasadena and L.A. Animal services will also be held at the event. Last year ALL animals were adopted! If you live in the area, check it out and find a new friend!

Help us help unwanted and abandoned animals!

2009-09-16T13:04:00.003-04:00

Hey all you Caramel Fans in the Midwest... come out and meet Caroline!

The Country Living Fair, the 4th annual fall festival hosted by Country Living Magazine will be taking place September 18th through 20th at the Ohio Village, just across the street from the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, OH, I-71 at exit 111.

Admission to the fair is $12.00 per day or $20.00 for a weekend pass (Kids under 16 free!). Hours are 10am - 5pm each day Rain or Shine.

Come out and meet Caroline and of course purchase cakes, delicious treats, and charming gifts. Spend a day or the whole weekend at the fair and visit with over 100 vendors! Antiques, crafts, gifts, collectibles, and of course FOOD! There will be cooking demonstrations and a harvest gourmet market.

Meet Rebecca Ray Smith and Michelle Luciano, the hosts of the new PBS TV series Lifestyles with Rebecca. There will also be fun childrens' activities! Check out the complete schedule here!

We hope to see y'all there!

2009-09-11T14:14:00.003-04:00

Follow us on Twitter!

While we aren't tweeting very much, we do have a new Twitter account @Carolinescakes

We promise.. no tweeting about what we are eating at the moment, or who is doing what.

We will be tweeting about new products, what's in stock and of course... Daily Lunch Specials!

Come be a follower of the Caramel!

Twitter.com

Nominate Us for Shine A Light!

2009-09-11T14:06:00.005-04:00

SBO Profile - shinealight.ivillage.com

Shine A Light is a competition with NBC and American Express which will be giving one small business a $100,000 in grant money. You can help us!

We only need 20 more of you to Spotlight us! And there is only 2 days left! The nominations end Sept. 13th.

Click here To Register,
then go to Shine a Light to add in your spotlight.

Your help is greatly appreciated! Help Caroline's Cakes become the Shine a Light business of the year!

Shared via AddThis

Read our New Press Release!

2009-09-01T15:08:00.004-04:00

Caroline's Cakes updated Website now features a wider selection of products

Shared via AddThis

2009-07-24T17:03:00.001-04:00

The perfect NYC Evening to Share!
Last evening Caroline was in New York City and had the most magical time that she wanted to share with all of her friends and fans in the area.
Her adventure started at Fort Tryon Park with a fantastic outdoor theater production of "Joan of Arc" put on by The Gorilla Repertory. Her dear friend Michael Weaver had his first speaking role as the Executioner and Clerk in the play. Caroline made a special trip to see his acting debut. This free and casual production allows the audience to follow the play on foot, as every scene brought you to a new location around the park.
Caroline so enjoyed her New York evening with such a beautiful setting along with her wonderful friends. She recommends everyone in the area find time to experience this hidden Jewel of Fort Tyron Park and "Joan of Arc" put on by the Gorilla Rep! The beauty of Fort Tryon Park with its lovely plantings, shaded walks and view of the river is not to be missed...nor is "Joan of Arc"!
For more information please go to: http://www.gorillarep.org/
Her night on the town continued with fabulous dinner at the The New Leaf Cafe also located in Fort Tryon Park. Caroline felt right at home in this intimate dining setting with its European country ambiance. She and her friends enjoyed a fabulous meal of scallops, cauliflower soup, crispy duck breast and their nightly special of Lamb with a corn and vegetable medley. Each course was better than the one before!
Of Course they ended it with CAKE!.... a rich chocolate molten cake with their handmade ice cream.
For more information go to: http://www.nyrp.org/newleaf/
It was such a perfect evening of theater, wining and dining with her friends that she had to share this with all of you and encourage you to experience this yourself!
"Joan of Arc" is only playing for one more week. Tonight, Friday July 24th through this Sunday July 26th. And next week Thursday, July 30th through Sunday with the final evening being Sunday August 2nd.
She is looking forward to the next production from Gorilla Rep. of "Julius Caesar" where Michael is cast in the role of Cicero.
Spread the word! This is worth sharing with your friends and Family!
Enjoy!

Cake Talk with Caroline

2008-05-26T10:29:00.001-04:00

I have a little cake business in Annapolis, MD, and have become known as making the best Caramel Cake in the World. We ship this cake and our other cakes all over the USA. Who would have thought this just from serving a Caramel Cake at my son's christening 26 years ago?
The thought of having a blog has been tickling in my head for some time. There are so many things that happen at Caroline's Cakes, so many stories that come to us from our customers and just quirky happenings that walk in our door. My staff and I think a sitcom about a Bakery would be a very popular TV Show. I will share some of these events with you.
One of my great loves is talking, sharing and connecting with people. I hope this will be a forum for this also. We all work so hard, this might be a great place to get some perspective on this life we are living and just kick back.