Hoppy Easter!

Today as I sat at my desk in our Annapolis Bakery and watched the snow and rain through the window I thought, surely Spring is about to show us the colorful buds and flowers we have come to expect at this time of year.  Their bright reminder of new beginnings is still hiding under the comfort of the warm earth and their delayed presence dampens our anticipation.

So I turn my sights to our shop and see the example of new beginnings I was missing. Our two new bakery cases are filled with colorful cupcakes, cake pops, scones, cookies and, of course, cakes. What a delight it is to see such a colorful, tasty array! The day is warmed by happy planning of all the bakery items we will be able to offer to our long-time customers in the Annapolis area. My favorites

are our meringue shells and meringue layers that we will fill with fruit, lemon curd, whipped cream, chocolate or caramel. Their lightness will be perfect for the Spring!

Spartanburg is delighting with the wonderful aroma of lemon and coconut as our shipments build for the Easter weekend.  The chocolate ladybugs and bees have found their way onto more cakes than ever. It is such a fun time for the girls in the bakery in 'Sparkle City.'

Tomorrow, at our Annapolis location, the day will be filled with a photo shoot for The Scout Guide. If you do not know of this publication, it may be found at www.thescoutguide.com. Susie Matheson and Christy Ford of Charlottesville, VA, have scouted out the best of the best in twenty of the top cities in the USA to help guide you to the destinations you would not want to miss when visiting these cities. Eleven more guides are planned to debut throughout the Spring and early Summer. We are thrilled to have been sought out to be included in the Annapolis/Eastern Shore guide.

With bunnies to decorate, egg whites to whip and caramel to cook with care, I must hop off to the kitchen.

May you all have a wonderful holiday and may new beginnings fill your Spring.

Hoppy, Hoppy,

Caroline

A Special Month!

March is a very special month.

A month filled with all of my Pisces’ friends’ birthdays.....

including mine:) 

The crocuses, daffodils and cherry blossoms begin to bloom,

as the winter drabness begins to brighten with the sprinkling of color appearing all around.  Soon we will experience the color of

‘new green’  before it darkens into the green of summer.

Winter clothes begin to be packed away as the days tease us

with the warmth of the coming Spring.  The last runs down the

snowy slopes are seized with a vengeance to grab the last moments to schuss down the mountain.  Bikes come out to be dusted and oiled for the first rides of the new season.

Who can not embrace the hope and rebirth that Spring brings

with it?

And then in the middle of all of this ‘March Madness’ is

St. Patrick’s Day.  Of course, we will all wear green......because

it is one of the simple, fun expressions of this day of celebration.

I know you do not want to be pinched because you are not wearing the color green;)  Boiled cabbage, potatoes and corned beef will be my traditional meal of choice on this delightful holiday. 

It comes and goes so quickly. The to early morning bike rides, the smell of spring flowers and the celebration of March birthdays........Enjoy it all.

Top O’ The Morning to You........

Caroline

Goodbye February, Hello Spring!

Lots of exciting things are happening here at Caroline's Cakes.

We are putting two new bakery cases  in our Annapolis Bakery to showcase all the cakes, cupcakes and cake pops more glamorously.  

You are sure to say 'WOW!' when you step in the door.

Be on the lookout for our new selections in Annapolis.

You are going to be thrilled.

In Spartanburg, we are preparing for the launch of  

four new very special cakes........all are a surprise........

and have an extraordinary component to go with them.

You will just have to wait, but I am bursting to tell you:)

If you have not seen Martha Stewart's magazine,

'Cakes and Cupcakes,' you should flip through it when you do.

I saw so many cakes that were just like ours,  I have to wonder.....ummm!  One cake alternating chocolate and caramel layers,  

now who else does that:) Then the impatiens on cupcakes.....OK, anyone can do that, I know.......and the daffodil on the cupcake, ah ha! A few pages further, what do I find but the ladybugs on cupcakes.....wrong color green for the leaves, if you ask me...... 
and the bumble bee.....sting!

Facing page, the daisy design on the slices of cake.....well, 
I certainly have seen that before, oh yes!  

Well, well, there is a dot cake, too.....I must admit my jaw dropped;)  

The sailboat cake is a real compliment to our fish bowl cake........  

I think we will just do a sailboat cake, too.......so there!  But the final 'ah-ha' moment is the

Buche de Noel filled with Caramel Buttercream!

Well, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.......just saying.  

Thank you, Martha. I think I will do a little imitating on my own.

With chuckles,

Caroline

Caroline   

Happy Birthday to Jozsef C Dobos!

Happy Birthday to Jozsef C Dobos!

Dobos is the inspired creator of the multi-layer cake. 

In 1883 he created the Dobostorta, a 5-8 layer cake

using chocolate buttercream between sponge layers

and topping his cake with caramel to hold in the moisture.

His Dobostorta was the first dessert to be shelf stable for

up to 10 days in a day of no refrigeration. 

In Celebration of his Birthday  -  Let’s Eat Cake!!!!

Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday!

Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday! 

It is such a special time, sharing the most special gift of all with family and friends.......

time.....our time....It is the most meaningful thing we can give to another and there never seems to be enough of it.

At our shop in Annapolis they are busy baking our adorable 

Terrance the Turkey Cakes  and Cupcakes. Terrance is my favorite seasonal cake.

I remember the first one  we made in Annapolis.........

I just had to give him a little kiss on his beak!

Of course, then he was mine.......all mine.....

and I placed him on the side of my desk until I shared him, to much delight,

with my staff. Over those weeks hundreds of Terrance the Turkey Cakes went out of the shop. Pumpkin, Chocolate, Caramel, Vanilla, whatever the flavor our Terrance the Turkey added great delight to many Thanksgiving gatherings. The shop is, also,

beginning to offer new bakery items for you to enjoy.

  

Here in Spartanburg, in our new 'International Headquarters,'   

time is flying faster that it ever has before. We have been hustling in every area  

of our new space setting our systems in place and making sure

they all work better than ever. Well, I alone, have lost eight pounds dashing

across the bakery floor, helping out in every different department to be sure

all of you are taken care of properly and receive our wonderful cakes

and gourmet items as you always have.

We began baking the middle of September and shipped our first cake

from South Carolina two weeks later.

As my dad would say, 'We have been running like a sewing machine.'  

And that we have. All of our time, that has been spent planning   

how we do things here at Caroline's Cakes to best take care of our customers,

paid off in spades. In our spacious new building, we became more efficient  

as we completed week after week of perfect performance.

Once all of our signature cakes were baked we FINALLY were able to

bake our  7-Layer Pumpkin Cake just in time for Thanksgiving.

It was a sign for us that we were organized and that all the time we had put into planning our move was time well spent. Those of you who had already called in to  

put your name on the list were called back and your Pumpkin Cakes were shipped out.  It has become one of my traditions for Thanksgiving,  so I was especially delighted when it came out of the oven.

Thank you for your patience as we have been quiet these past eight weeks.  

Our time was time spent with thoughts of you and it was time well spent.

So to all of you who are so special to all of us........

Gobble, Gobble..........

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!

Caroline

Cake Talk with Caroline

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.