SOUTHERN SPOTLIGHT
Success from Scratch The sons of a South Carolina entrepreneur carry on her bustling business sparked by a scrumptious Southern cake served at a family celebration. by
Holly Seng | photography courtesy of Caroline’s Cakes
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ith a childhood spent frequenting church picnics, family barbecues, and dinner parties, Caroline Ragsdale Reutter understood the unifying power of food from an early age. Accustomed to preparing dishes for every occasion, it was her son Richard’s christening where she served the very first of the seven-layer caramel cakes that would become the foundation of a robust baking enterprise. “She would have friends ask if she could make one for them here and there, and she would put them out on the front porch of the house,” says Richard, now president of the company started by his late mother. “People would come by and pick up the cakes, [leaving] a check or cash in a big red tin. Everything was run on the honor system, and we were never off by even a penny.” Word of the decadent confections spread as Caroline steadily increased her production to eight cakes a day. One afternoon about two decades ago, she received a phone call from the financial giant known then as
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SOUTHERN SPOTLIGHT
Instead of following baking trends, Caroline’s Cakes listens to their customers for new ideas to expand the company’s selections. After a client requested a pink Champagne cake for a baby shower, Richard reviewed recipes his mother had flagged, and the team developed a four-layer Pink Champagne confection, now a part of their best-sellers menu.
U.S. Trust Corporation, where an employee who had sampled her cakes recommended them as holiday gifts. When informed the company would need a total of 2,000 cakes, she did not miss a beat before agreeing to provide them—and Caroline’s Cakes was born. Unwilling to jeopardize the timehonored recipe she had developed with her grandmother, Caroline filled that first big order in authentic cottage industry fashion. “It showed Mom’s true entrepreneurial spirit that she put a commercial kitchen in the basement of her home and got the order out—baked in the basement, packed in the garage,” says Richard, who works alongside his brother, Charles. “We heard from U.S. Trust years later that they have never received that kind of positive response from a corporate gift.” Caroline’s innovation, tireless effort, and commitment to customers helped her company thrive. Based in Spartanburg, South Carolina,
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Caroline’s Cakes operates by mail order and boasts about 30 flavors of four- and seven-layer cakes (depending on the season), such as their Coconut Cloud, Traditional Carrot, and Pink Champagne cakes. Desiring to recreate the fare she fondly associated with growing up around the dinner table in Lake City, South Carolina, Caroline expanded offerings to include savory meal kits and sides like Southern Cheese Biscuits and Carolina-Style BBQ. In homage to the venture’s early days, each cake is packaged in a charming red tin, placed in a cooler designed and patented by Caroline to include a compartment for dry ice, and enclosed in a red box. While Caroline passed away from ovarian cancer in 2017, her lasting influence remains with those who knew her as well as the spirit of the firm and its motto, “Eat Cake. Be Happy.” Her sons carry on the work she started and continue to honor her in a special way: each September, in
support of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, 25 percent of all caramel cake sales are donated to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. From birthdays and holidays to weddings and baby showers, customers have long marked milestones with slices of Caroline’s cakes. “The stories we hear of the memories our cakes bring back and the traditions that we’ve become a part of mean so much to us,” says Richard. Another source of inspiration comes from Richard’s daughter, Caroline, born almost two years ago, coincidentally on National Caramel Day. Richard says his mother unequivocally left her mark on Caroline’s Cakes, from the recipes she flagged in cookbooks still housed at the bakery to the fond memories treasured by those who knew her. “This will always be Caroline’s Cakes,” Richard says. “She left quite a legacy.” For info, visit carolinescakes.com.