Caroline's Cakes - The Story of Caroline's Cakes

When Annapolis, MD resident and South Carolina native, Caroline Ragsdale Reutter, first served her Seven-Layer Caramel Cake twenty-three years ago, she never knew her cakes would start a business as popular as Charleston, South Carolina in the Spring. It's probably safe to say Caramel Cake was in her deep-rooted Southern blood. The family recipe for her Caramel Cake is as old as the South itself, and as many people already know, it's next to impossible to resist the sugary aroma and moist savory layers of this sensational homemade Southern specialty.

After she served her Caramel Cake at her youngest son's Christening, good ole' fashioned word of mouth soon had friends, family members and acquaintances asking (and often begging) for more of her cakes. Caroline quickly discovered a way to ship her traditional treats as she rapidly expanded into a home-based business. Caroline's time-honored layer cakes were baked from scratch in her basement then shipped to eager customers. The number of cakes shipped out of Caroline's basement and onto the doorsteps of anxiously waiting customers grew exponentially with every passing year and holiday season. Caroline's Cakes reached a turning point in 2000 when a large Florida corporation ordered 2000 Caramel Cakes as gifts for their clients.

Word of Caroline's sensational Seven-Layer Caramel Cake quickly spread throughout the country and an extensive nationwide customer base was developed. Within two years, and after many requests from customers, seven more cake varieties (including variations of chocolate and coconut flavors) were added to Caroline's inventory, as well as Carolina Plantation Peanuts, Pee Dee River Pecans and Vermont Cheddar Cheese.

One of the most exciting expansions occurred in 2003 when Caroline opened her first bakery, cake shop and fine gift boutique near the Bay Bridge in Annapolis, Maryland. Soon after the grand opening, Caroline created a much-anticipated specialty cake department, serving the Maryland community with her signature mouth-watering, elegant and creative specialty and wedding cakes. After one year, Caroline's Cakes was awarded "Best Cakes" by the readers of What's Up? Annapolis magazine.

Six months after being in her Annapolis bakery, Caroline's Gourmet Take It Away opened, offering customers their favorite gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads and Caroline's signature desserts to go.

Caroline's Cakes has been featured in many publications including the Washington Post, Fine Cooking Magazine, Cottage Living, What's Up? Annapolis, Chesapeake Life, the Capital and was most recently featured on the Food Network. Many local media outlets followed suit making Caroline's Cakes a household name.

Caroline's Cakes continues to make the world a smaller place through the quality of all of our products and our exceptional customer service. Caroline's Cakes is extremely grateful to all of our wonderful customers who continue to give support, best wishes and share fabulous cake stories.