202: Richard Reutter, Caroline's Cakes (Spartanburg, SC)

The Southern Fork

There’s a famous quote from Julia Child where she says “A party without cake is just a meeting.” But for many Southerners, that saying goes for family too. Many families have a locally-famous cake, from an aunt’s cream cheese pound cake to a grandmother’s applestack cake. For the Reutter family, that was Caroline’s caramel cake, a labor of love and precision that is as decadent as it is time-consuming to make. Caroline started making them upon request, and soon Caroline’s Cakes was born. The bakery, now with 30 cake flavors in all, has since gained national recognition, from Oprah’s favorite things to features on Buzzfeed and Food Network. Caroline passed away from cancer in 2017, but her son Richard still carries on the sweet tradition of his mom’s baking business in Spartanburg, SC, and it’s a family affair.