[dramatic music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," join us from Eno River Farm as we delight in sweet treats around the state.

We'll go on the Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail, visit two bakeries, and sample the unique flavors at Legends coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[cheerful music] [cheerful music continues] [cheerful music continues] - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend," everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are visiting places around the state that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Right now we're at Eno River Farm in Hillsborough, a family-owned garden center, berry farm, market, and they make their own ice cream from their own berries and other fresh ingredients.

We'll explore this beautiful farm and market throughout the show.

But first, the mountain town of Hendersonville has places to hike, art galleries, wineries, and more.

But did you know they also have lots of ice cream shops?

Come along with Kirby Gibson as she joins her friends along the Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail.

[lively music] - My name is Kirby Gibson, ice cream aficionado.

I mean, who doesn't love ice cream?

Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, these are the basics we grew up with.

But now there's a whole world of fantastic flavors out there, and today I'm on a mission to experience the best of what one mountain town has to offer.

Yes!

Welcome, my friends, to the Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail.

There are more than a dozen delectable destinations sprinkled throughout this beautiful locale, and I'm meeting up with some super sweet people to experience as much as I can while avoiding the dreaded brain freeze.

Let's go.

[cheerful music] The Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail features 13 shops to satisfy that sweet tooth.

I'm heading out with my friends Zoe and Eli to wander our way through ice cream heaven.

We're scooping up four stops on the trail today: McConnell Farms, Celtic Creamery, the Baker's Box, and our first culinary adventure at Karolina Kremes.

- Karolina Kremes is a small ice cream shop in Etowah, North Carolina.

It's also that's in Henderson County.

So most people come here because of our shakes.

Things like the Peanut Butter Monkey Shake and the Karolina Shake.

Our Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae is also very popular.

Typically we're open from March to October-ish, 11 to 7, Wednesday through Saturday.

I guess one of the unique things that we have is a little play area for the kids so they can do hopscotch and they've got various little activities over there, drawing on the floor that they can do.

- I got the Redheaded Monkey Shake.

It's peanut butter and chocolate and it's got a cherry on top for the redhead.

It's delicious.

[giggles] - Nice.

And what do you like about this place?

- I really like the atmosphere, it's so cute.

I think that the chalk and the hopscotch is all really cute.

I can see like, just like kids playing around here and lots of tables so everybody can be here and, like, have a space, and I just think the vibe is so happy.

- [Kirby] Yeah.

- I got the Unicorn Shake, and it tastes like, sort of like cereal milk, like it's like, like that classic, like, Froot Loops in your bowl flavor.

- [Kirby] What?

- [Eli] Love it.

Yeah.

- [Kirby] That's awesome.

- [Eli] And it's pink, which is super cute, right?

- It is super cute.

[Zoe giggling] All right, you guys ready to head to the next spot?

- Oh yeah.

- Nice.

[cheerful music] [people chuckling] [lively music] Our next stop might turn you green with envy as we get to experience the flavors of the Emerald Isle come stateside.

This is Celtic Creamery.

- We have an Irish ice cream brand that's very unique, so it's very rich and we make every single thing in-house.

So we churn our own ice cream, we make our own hot fudge, we make our own whipped cream, we make doughnuts to order, mini doughnuts that can have powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.

Our biggest thing is we make everything in-house.

- The title of this, I'm gonna try it.

Ready?

Scrumbumptious Strawberry.

And it is without a doubt very scrumbumptious.

[group laughing] - As soon as you walk in you can smell the fresh doughnuts, and that just, it tells you exactly what kind of experience you're gonna have.

It's gonna be warm, it's gonna be delicious.

- I would say that the Ballybunion Brownie is probably one of our biggest sellers.

The Celtic Special, which is four hot mini doughnuts made with two scoops of your choice of ice cream, hot fudge on top with two scoops of whipped cream and some chocolate flakes on top.

And people seem to love that one 'cause it's very unique to have hot mini doughnuts in a ice cream store as well.

Handmade, lots of love in it, and you'll taste the difference when you come in.

[lively music] - This was fantastic, but I think we still have to go to a couple more places.

You guys ready?

- Yeah.

- So ready.

[cheerful music] - Next up, our tour continues as we make our way to one of the only apple farms in the area that stays open year round, McConnell Farms.

Yes, they have amazing apples, but they also have incredible ice cream.

[cheerful music] - Welcome to McConnell Farms.

I'm Danny McConnell, one of the family members here at the Farms.

My family's been here since around 1940, and we started making ice cream on the farm about 25 years ago.

We started out making one flavor of ice cream, which was strawberry.

And so now that we're up to after about 25 years, we keep about 15 flavors of ice cream all year round.

Our ice cream is very unique 'cause we have a very high butter fat ice cream, as well as we use as many fruits and vegetables from the farm as we can.

Strawberry, Lemon Diane, Charleston Praline, our Blackberry Chip, Blueberry Crumble, those are probably our six, seven biggest ones right now.

- Oh my gosh.

It's so good, it tastes like eating a piece of pie.

- So you seem to like the Strawberry a lot.

[giggles] - Yes, I'm a big strawberry fan, and what I like about this is it's almost like a gelato.

- Yeah.

- It's really, really nice.

It's super fresh.

It's like I feel like I'm just eating strawberries right off the farm, you know.

- We have tasting plates that we do four, five flavors at a time, and you can come out and pick your favorite, what you think will be your favorite flavors.

You can get a sampling plate, it's good for sharing.

So come on out and see us.

- This place is amazing, but I think we need to make our way to the next stop on our ice cream tour.

Are you guys ready?

- Yeah.

- Ready.

- All right.

[cheerful music] [lighthearted music] We're wrapping up our tour at our fourth and final stop, The Baker's Box.

This place is basically what happens when you get two chefs together to build their dream restaurant, complete with ice cream and a whole lot of Lego.

- We are a family-owned restaurant and bakery.

We have an eclectic menu with burgers, sandwiches.

We make our own desserts and ice cream.

The ice cream, it's custard base.

It's very rich, very smooth, nice and creamy.

And we have about six different flavors at any given time and some of 'em are kind of unique.

- I didn't think I was gonna be a fan of this boozy milkshake, but it is perfect.

You know, sometimes alcohol can be really overpowering, but this is the perfect balance.

You can taste it, but it's like comforting, it's warming.

- I love how thick the ice cream is.

It's so custardy.

I have the peanut butter cup one right now, and sometimes when you have a peanut butter cup ice cream it's like not enough peanut butter cup and you're like, hmm.

This one's full, and it's so delicious.

- Yes.

Also, what better place to enjoy ice cream than in a place where you are surrounded by your literal childhood?

I mean, there are Lego sculptures all over.

There is a train above our heads.

- [Eli] I loved walking in and I was totally surprised by everything that was happening in here.

- Well, we're very much into Star Wars and Harry Potter, and there's a lot of Legos in here and just, it's just a part of us.

It's just fun and casual.

We love our ice cream.

We just love what we do and we do it ourselves.

- All across North Carolina you'll be able to find amazing ice cream from the mountains to the coast, but I'm not sure you'll be able to find anything that measures up to the Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail.

This destination is the cherry on top of our state's ice cream sundae.

So come on down and bring your appetite.

[lighthearted music] - The Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail dots the Blue Ridge Mountains throughout Henderson County.

To find a map with all the locations and their hours, head to Visithendersonvillenc.org.

The scenery here at Eno River Farm is so pretty, like a painted picture everywhere you look.

You know, there's an artist in Western North Carolina whose medium of choice isn't paint or pottery or even glass.

Her medium of choice is cake.

Producer Clay Johnson and videographer Erik Olsen take us to her studio in Polk County, a custom cake shop called Valhalla Bakery.

[upbeat music] - [Clay] Lynne and Dick Perlmutter love going to Valhalla Cakes and Cafe in Tryon and taking their dog Pierre.

- He loves coming here.

It's the perfect spot to hang out, and if he's lucky, he gets a little bite of croissant.

- [Clay] Cake artist Sam Slade owns the shop and runs it with her fiance, Jason Bailey.

- When I first came into this bakery, I fell in love with them.

I got, it was like immediate friends with Sam and Jason.

- He came and saw me and he had been a regular at this point that we really like and you see at least once a week, and he was like, "It's Lynne's birthday.

"I'd like to do something with Pierre."

And I was like, "Yes, I love that dog."

He's pretty famous around here.

- She showed me some things she had done, [upbeat music] [camera clicking] and she was obviously unbelievably good, talented.

She was a real artist.

- [Sam] He sent me probably like 50 photos 'cause I always ask people like, "Oh, well, send me pictures."

I don't think he knew what to expect when I showed him and it really blew him away.

- I said, "Oh my god, look."

You know, I said, "I don't think I wanna touch this."

So I had her hold the cake so I could take a picture of it because that might be the last time we'll ever see it perfect.

[wistful music] - We had a couple friends over, and then he brings out this cake that's got my dog on it.

It was amazing.

- Then he sent me pictures of her seeing the cake for the first time, and that made me really happy 'cause that's my favorite part is, and I don't get to see that part.

- [Clay] The Perlmutters say the cake tasted as good as it looked.

- Wasn't too sweet, very high quality.

- [Clay] And the cake top Pierre?

- We took it off of the cake and we stuck it in the freezer so our kids could see it.

[chuckles] And then one of them came over and ate his head.

- [Sam] So the cake is supposed to look like a wheel of cheese for our friends over at Looking Glass Creamery.

I've met a cow named Rosie, and she's great and she's kind of their mascot.

- [Clay] Sam and her craft were born in Chicago.

- [Sam] And my dad had bakeries growing up, and I would go with him to work all the time.

- [Clay] She majored in sculpture and illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

- I went and interned somewhere at a cake shop in Chicago and didn't know people were making cake into sculptures, and it was like actually artists who are all doing this mostly.

You have to be quick.

You don't have time to say, "Oh, I wanna change this little detail and," 'cause it's food, it's gonna go bad.

I look at it and I say, okay, it's done.

I can't dwell on it much longer.

And it goes and brings someone joy, and then it's gone forever.

Rosie.

[giggles] - [Clay] Sam ran her own cake shop in Denver for eight years called Valhalla Cakes for her love of Norse mythology, but she and Jason wanted a less hectic life.

They moved to Polk County, close to his hometown of Shelby.

- It's a lot slower paced here, which I like.

I see the same people all the time when I go anywhere now, and I love that, versus in Denver.

- [Clay] Sam opened a new Valhalla Cakes and Cafe near downtown Tryon in June 2024 and started growing a customer base.

Then Helene hit.

- [Sam] The hurricane kind of screwed a lot of that up for us.

That was like, we were gaining momentum and then just everything, it felt like we started over.

- [Clay] So they did.

In addition to custom cakes, the shop serves pastries, breakfast sandwiches, focaccia pizzas, and gourmet coffee roasted by Sam's brother in Chicago.

- He's making a great product, so all I have to do is not screw it up on this end of things.

The lion's share of the feedback has been really positive and people have loved it.

We've got a lot of repeat customers, so, you know, people keep coming back and it feels good for that, so.

[chuckles] - [Sam] Everyone's gathering here.

We get worried when someone doesn't show up.

It's awesome.

I really, you know, it makes us feel like we're doing a really good job.

- [Lynne] It's a beautiful, beautiful spot.

There are always people coming in and out.

It's a picture perfect bakery.

[upbeat music] - Indulge at Valhalla Cakes and Cafe located at 90 Pacolet Street in Tryon.

They're open Thursday through Monday from 8 to 2, and to find out more, you can give them a call at 828-440-1264 or put in a custom order at valhallacakeshop.com.

I'm enjoying some delicious ice cream here at Eno River Farm and I'm with the ice cream maker, Tim Bennett.

Tim, thank you so much for the scoop.

- Oh, you're welcome.

- This is delicious.

And tell me, what makes it so wonderful?

- We use local cream, but all our berry ice creams come from the farm.

- So if there's fruit in the ice cream, it comes from the farm right here.

- [Tim] It comes from right here, yes.

- [Deborah] I love that.

- We'll make some ice cream.

- You make some ice cream, I'll eat some ice cream.

- And hopefully I don't spill it too much.

- Mm-mm.

[cheerful music] Which cream is this?

Tim began with a locally sourced cream, then added strawberries from their own Eno River Farm berry patch.

I don't know why I like ice cream so much.

- If you were gonna make ice cream with just strawberries and get that rich strawberry flavor, you'd end up putting probably 15 or 20 pounds of strawberry in there and you'd never get a good cream.

So you have to have a really nice flavor to add to it.

And we use Green Mountain Flavors, and they're one of the best.

- After a good mix, Tim adds a strawberry variant to enhance the flavor.

Then it's time for a deep freeze.

But Tim let me sample the mix just before freezing.

Mm-mm.

Mm!

Mm, mm, mm.

- Good?

- Oh yeah.

- Great.

- Eno River Farm is at 2127 Saint Mary's Road in Hillsborough, and they're open from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Tuesday through Sunday.

For more information, give them a call at 919-245-8775 or visit them online at enoriverfarms.com.

When artist and baker Seraphim Smith was down east recently, he stepped into a bakery and was wafted away by the aroma of fresh baked bread and rosemary.

Let's check in with Seraphim as he takes us to Sugarloaf Island Bakery in Morehead City.

[lighthearted music] - So I bet you're wondering what I'm doing out here at four o'clock in the morning.

It's a bakery, and where there's a bakery, there's bread and cake and pastry.

But let's go back to that bread.

It's special because it's sourdough, and sourdoughs start with a starter, which is a collection of bacteria and wild yeast.

- Legend has it it's a 56-year-old sourdough starter.

Basically it came with the bakery when I purchased it about a year ago.

- [Seraphim] How often do you feed your starter?

- We feed the starter once a day every day.

- [Seraphim] So this is kind of like a pet for you all, a bakery pet.

- [Rachel] This is a bakery pet.

- [Seraphim] The starter, along with honey, butter, and other natural ingredients are combined in the mixer using the straight dough method.

Basically you just throw it all in and go.

The dough bulk ferments in the proofer until doubled in size.

It's then punched down, portioned, and rounded.

It relaxes in the bench rest stage, and is then formed and panned.

After a second rise, it is then baked.

- I use my thermometer.

I internally temp the bread.

As long as it's between about like 195 to 205, it should be done.

- [Seraphim] The loaves get their beautiful glow from being brushed with milk before baking.

- My husband and I have four girls.

When we dropped our youngest off at college, we decided we were gonna move to the beach, and when we did, I decided I kind of needed a new purpose.

So I bought a bakery about a year ago, and the rest is history.

[chuckles] - [Seraphim] Sugarloaf Island Bakery handmakes each of their pastries including danishes, cinnamon rolls, eclairs, turnovers, and croissants.

Selecting a special dessert is a piece of cake, or you might choose to order a whole custom cake.

The cakes aren't just beautiful, they taste incredible because they're made with real ingredients and, of course, a whole lot of love.

- The carrot cake's probably my favorite.

We just had it for the first time for Easter and my family loved it.

We also had the lemon blueberry cheesecake and we also had the Bailey's chocolate cake.

- [Seraphim] Now look, this is not your typical chocolate cake.

It's made with buttermilk and coffee and it's simply decadent.

And you know what?

I'm all right with that.

[lighthearted music] - This is our Bailey's Irish Cream cake.

It is chocolate cake surrounded by a Bailey's Irish Cream mousse, and it has our signature chocolate ganache on the top.

- I'm so excited to dig into a piece of their key lime pie.

And yes, Virginia, those are real vanilla bean flecks.

I can see why this is so popular.

It's delicious.

Perfectly sour, sweet, and creamy, I'll be taking some of this home.

Mm!

♪ Do do do do ♪ - I bought the bakery because I have a passion for baking.

I love to cook, I love to bake, and I love to feed people.

It's always fun watching someone's reaction, especially when something you made is incredible.

And I love that, I love making people happy with food.

♪ Do do ♪ ♪ Do do do ♪ - [Seraphim] Next time you're in Morehead City, make sure to stop at the bakery with the pink flag out front.

Love has a great flavor, and you'll find plenty of it here.

- Sugarloaf Island Bakery is located at 1002 Arendell Street in Morehead City, and they're open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 to 2.

You can reach them at 252-222-0443 or check out their Facebook page for more information.

Hey there.

[chuckles] This is one of three giant sculptures out here at Eno River Farm, and they call it Grandpa Troll.

Now let's head to Greensboro for some more legendary creations that really pack a punch.

[dramatic music] - [Customer] Before I even ordered anything, you could obviously see what Legends was all about.

[dramatic music] - What makes this place special is that it's themed after Lucha Libre.

[dramatic music] [upbeat music] [Martin speaking in Spanish] - Cheers.

[upbeat music] [Martin speaking in Spanish] - Lucha Libre translates to freestyle wrestling.

It's a Mexican-style wrestling which has masks, high diving.

It's more fast paced than regular wrestling.

When you see our menu, you will see how it's divided between the Tecnicos and the Rudos, the baby face and the heels, the good and the bad.

♪ Step into the ring ♪ - We have products like Nutella the Giant, which is based off Andre the Giant.

We also got flavors like Angel Blanco, which is a wrestler back in Mexico.

Everything that you see here in the house, from the sauces to the ice cream to la paletas to the churro, everything is created by us and by my team and by Legends.

The Tecnicos menu, which is the sweet, we have the Smackdowns under there, which is a milkshake in a glass.

We decorate the glass beautifully with the chocolate, the topping.

The churro is freshly made for that one Smackdown.

It's a signature churro.

- I always order churros here.

I mean, they're crispy, and I like it crispy.

- I offer hot drinks also, coffee, cappuccinos.

I got hot chocolates.

I got Mexican hot chocolate.

Esquites is a Aztec pre-Hispanic word that means toasted corn.

So we toast the corn with epazote leaf, which is a herb from Mexico.

We have some mayonnaise, Mexican mayonnaise, that has some lime in there.

We also bring this cheese imported from Mexico.

It's a cotija cheese.

It's a hard, salty cheese, okay?

It gives a good mix with the corn, the sweet corn, and the saltiness of the cheese.

We also like to add some spiciness in there, some chili pepper.

We also add some Takis, Hot Cheetos.

- My favorite is the mangonada, so that's my go-to.

It's cool, it's refreshing.

It also highlights a little bit of chamoy in it, and for those who are like tamarind fans who like a little bit of spiciness within their desserts, that's also my favorite type of thing.

You are most definitely getting a bang for your buck.

I can tell you with all the elements that are added within this particular item, I would not expect it to be at that price.

- I would say that Legend is definitely the place to come because when you come in, people always greet you, always make you feel welcome.

It's nice and warm.

They're always playing music.

It's a nice vibe going on.

[Martin speaking in Spanish] [upbeat music] [Martin speaking in Spanish] [Martin continues speaking in Spanish] [upbeat music] - Find your preferred flavor at Legends Ice Cream and Churros at 4925 West Market Street in Greensboro.

They're open from noon to nine every day.

Give them a call at 336-907-7086 or check out their website at legendsicecream.com.

Check out this beautiful treat made with fresh berries grown right here at Eno River Farm.

We've had a wonderful time here.

Not only do they have ice cream, but there's a berry patch and a garden center.

If you've missed anything in tonight's show, remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org or you can find us on our YouTube channel.

Have a great North Carolina weekend everyone.

[cheerful music] [cheerful music continues] [cheerful music continues] [cheerful music continues] [cheerful music continues] - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[dramatic music]