Behind The Baking: Erin Burrell Makes A Career Of Pastry

When she was 12 years old, Erin Burrell started baking with her grandmother. By the time she was 16, she was working in her grandmother’s Patti Kake Bakery.
 

“It came really natural to me,” Burrell said. “I was always being creative, so I liked the creativity part for sure.”
 

The bakery was named for Burrell’s grandmother, Patti, and the “Kake” came from the two of them playing pat-a-cake together when Burrell was young.
 

“We’ve always been very close, but baking, we share that common interest,” Burrell said. “We were able to relate in a lot of different ways as opposed to the typical grandmother-granddaughter relationship.”
 

Though her grandmother taught her the basics of baking, Burrell has had to learn the more complicated techniques on her own. She attended culinary school at Anne Arundel Community College in 2011, but didn’t finish her degree because it was too much to balance while running a bakery.
 

Located off Fort Smallwood Road, the bakery was open for about five years. After it closed, Burrell was working part-time at a bakery in Columbia when she got a call from Mark Morgan, the executive chef at Two Rivers. Burrell and Morgan knew each other because Burrell grew up with Morgan’s daughter. Morgan said he needed some extra help in the bakery.
 

After talking, the two decided to merge their businesses, forming what is now Patti Kake Bakery at Two Rivers. Burrell is in charge of not only Patti Kake Bakery but also all desserts for Two Rivers’ restaurant and catering services.
 

“We pretty much run everything out of here,” Burrell said. “Everything’s made in-house, and all the orders are made through me.”
 

Since taking over Patti Kake Bakery, Burrell said she has become more adventurous with her recipes. But the one recipe she will never change is her grandmother’s traditional yellow butter cake.
 

“I try not to say ‘no,’ so I try to go for anything, even if it’s something I haven’t done before,” Burrell said. “I’m not as afraid to take on challenges.”
 

To keep up with competitors, Burrell has added flavors and fillings to her repertoire. She now offers 15 cake flavors and 18 fillings. One of the more obscure combinations Burrell makes is an orange blossom cake with white chocolate mousse filling, which she described as tasting like an orange Creamsicle.
 

One of the busiest times of year for Burrell is wedding season. When Burrell’s grandmother was still running the bakery out of her house, Patti Kake formed a partnership with David’s Bridal in Glen Burnie to be the store’s exclusive cake vendor.
 

When Burrell is offering cake tastings at David’s Bridal, she hosts quarterly “mini bridal expos” at The Reserve at Two Rivers. Her grandmother is often in attendance for the expos, even if she’s just watching from the corner, Burrell said.
 

“We get local vendors together, and it’s complimentary, and brides get to come in and try all our different cake flavors and fillings and meet with local vendors as well,” Burrell said.
 

The next bridal tasting is Tuesday, June 5, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
 

Two Rivers Steak & Fish House is located in Lakeshore Plaza at 4105 Mountain Road in Pasadena. All cakes are made to order, and orders can be placed by calling 410-360-1919 or filling out an online request form.