heritage cakes from the blue ridge mountains.
SEVEN RECIPES. FOUR GENERATIONS.
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THE PRODUCT
SUNDAY MORNING HONEYBUN CAKE
While the rest of the world has the doughnut, the mountains have the honeybun...and mountain folks have elevated it to an artform.Entered into the cookbook in 1978, we’ve traded the convenience store wrapper for ingredients like buttermilk, butter, local honey, dark brown sugar and cinnamon, layering the batter with a rich cinnamon-brown sugar-nutmeg ripple.Finished with a delicate cinnamon-infused sugar glaze that shimmers on the crust, it captures the simple, unhurried spirit of a Blue Ridge weekend.
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
DARK CORNER WHISKEY CAKE
Give this as a gift or feature it as a host and become legendary.Dark Corner is bourbon-forward by design - as it has been since it entered the cookbook in 1986 - layered and soaked slowly so the flavor carries all the way through, not just in the glaze. This coupled with buttermilk, butter, dark brown sugar and a diced walnut top layer makes this cake a show stopper.Bold, dark, and indulgent, it takes its name from the old moonshine country at the edge of Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania counties - a recipe rooted in North Carolina’s liquid history.This isn’t a sweet cake with a hint of bourbon. It’s a bourbon dessert that happens to be cake.If you’re not a fan of the barrel, skip it. If you are, you’ve just found your holy grail.(Designated driver recommended.)
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
NANA'S BLUEBERRY CREAM CAKE
This cake comes straight from Nana’s cookbook in Edneyville, North Carolina, where it was first written down in 1959.This Blueberry Cream Cake is a classic mountain coffee cake, rich with butter and cream cheese and filled with four cups of blueberries that burst into the batter as it bakes.A swirl of brown sugar and cinnamon runs through the center, creating a warm, comforting flavor that pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee.A true heirloom recipe from the Blue Ridge foothills.
$65 - Serves 12-15 People
EDNEYVILLE APPLE CAKE
Edneyville Apple Cake was entered into the cookbook in 1965, but it has been around much longer than that...its legacy is the Apple Stack Cake, which has been made in the mountains since the late 1700's.Bringing the famous flavors of the North Carolina Apple Festival to the Scenic City. Done the old way with Granny Smith apples, dark brown sugar, molasses, local honey, and butter. Finished with a decadent honey glaze, it’s a nostalgic staple of the Blue Ridge. If you’re looking for the quintessential mountain dessert, this is it.
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
MUD CREEK PUMPKIN CAKE
Entered into the cookbook in 1977, this is the Year-round pumpkin cake.Our "Founding Flavor" and most-requested cake. Built with pumpkin puree, buttermilk, butter and dark brown sugar. No gimmicks, just a deep, subtly sweet cake finished with a signature smooth cream cheese frosting.It’s the "epiphany cake"—designed to win over even the most dedicated pumpkin skeptics.
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
CHURCH COOKBOOK CARROT CAKE
Southern style carrot cake. In Henderson County, the most guarded culinary secrets aren’t found in high-end boutiques—they are found in the plastic-bound pages of local church cookbooks.Although we recorded this recipe in 1981, it has been a common refrain across Blue Ridge denominations since the 1950s, and for good reason.Built with finely grated fresh carrots, dark brown sugar, molasses, local honey, butter and buttermilk, it celebrates the root vegetables that anchor our local food culture, resulting in a classic Southern cake with genuine spice, texture, and depth.Topped with a silky cream cheese frosting, it remains a quiet favorite for those who truly know cake. It’s not just a dessert; it’s a piece of our shared history.
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
FLAT ROCK BLACKOUT
Decadent, moist chocolate cake. Rooted in the mountain summers of Henderson County - where Lowcountry families once carried refined tastes inland to escape the heat - Flat Rock Blackout is a variation of a recipe from the late 1800's, entered into our cookbook in 1955.Built with real cocoa, buttermilk, dark roast coffee, dark brown sugar, homemade butter and dark chocolate candy, this deep, dark Bundt is made to impress. Soaked with bourbon-infused cocoa sugar syrup and then finished with a restrained dark chocolate praline ganache.
$65 - Serves 12-15 people
OUR STORY
Our family’s history has always been written in the kitchen.For generations, our family has preserved the traditions of Southern cooking - through restaurant kitchens, family gatherings, and recipes passed from one kitchen table to the next. That heritage remains alive today at our family restaurant, Shine, on Main Street in Hendersonville, North Carolina.Although my career took me to Chattanooga and into the rug industry, I never drifted far from the grill, the smoker, or the oven. The recipes of my childhood remained close at hand.Of all the dishes passed through our family, seven cakes became the ones everyone requested—the recipes that crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains with us and inspired Culpepper Cakes.Today, I’m honored to share a little piece of Western North Carolina heritage with my neighbors in Chattanooga.
THE PROCESS
Small-Batch by Design: To maintain the integrity of our recipes, we limit our oven to a select number of slots per week. This ensures every cake receives the exact saturation and crumb texture our heritage demands.The Ingredients: Inspired by Appalachian tradition, our ingredients are simple and honest. We swap seed oils for butter and avocado oil, use only fresh produce, natural cocoa, and real Blue Ridge infusions. We don't shortcut the process; we prioritize quality over volume in everything we craft.
Proudly serving the Chattanooga area, including Northshore, Riverview, Rivermont, St. Elmo, Ooltewah, East Ridge, Signal Mountain, and Lookout Mountain. Authentic Hendersonville, NC recipes.
Thanks so much for your interest—and for supporting something made close to home.