Auntie Dee Dee's Homemade Baked Goods
Nestled up in a special corner of our state in the picturesque town of East Burke is one amazing bakery. Small in size, but enormous in quality and care, Auntie Dee Dee’s creates to-die-for baked goods that draw a weekly crowd. Fortunately for mountain bikers, skiers, and hikers, it’s located “on the way” to the Burke Mountain.
Local resident and regular customer Jay Riley says, “Auntie Dee Dee’s Bakery is more than a bakery. Danielle Ekasala has built a community treasure, a place where neighbors, friends, local farmers, and outdoor recreational tourists all converge. It’s a place that’s essential in a time when lives are digital, and the need to slow down and see one another has never been more important. The demand for Danielle’s delicious food creates a long outdoor line, no matter the season or weather.”
I visited Auntie Dee Dee’s on a cold Sunday in January and got there early. She’s open Friday through Sunday. By the time the doors opened, I had made a few friends in line, each with an opinion on what I should try. They were local skiers, a farmer, and a family just up from Boston on the way to the mountain. Once inside this charming, converted garage, you are staring front and center at a case of freshly baked pastries that include cinnamon rolls, Swedish buns, plain and chocolate croissants, and pear crostatas. Baskets hang on the walls filled with French baguettes, sourdough round loaves, and bags of granola. The fragrant smell of fresh bread wafts in the air.
Auntie Dee Dee came by her nickname from her nephew Zack, who couldn’t pronounce Danielle. Danielle Ekasala is the talented force behind all the homemade goodies and devoted to using local, fresh ingredients. She moved to Vermont to live closer to her sister, Terry, and her true pride and joy is her son, Jack, whom she affectionately refers to as “my Boo.”
“ Auntie Dee Dee’s Bakery is more than a bakery. Danielle Ekasala has built a community treasure, a place where neighbors, friends, local farmers, and outdoor recreational tourists all converge. It’s a place that’s essential in a time when lives are digital, and the need to slow down and see one another has never been more important.” –Jay Riley, photographer and customer
(left) Danielle Ekasala, aka Auntie Dee Dee, takes a rare break
Danielle got her start in baking in Santa Fe, where she learned the craft of handmade croissants. She fell in love with baking and took the pastry part of the midnight shift, which launched her career as a professional baker. She had stints in Seattle, Portland, Boca Grande, and New York City before her arrival in Vermont. She started selling her goods at local farmers’ markets for nearly 10 years in nearby St. Johnsbury, Danville, and Lyndonville before creating her bricks-and-mortar business in her renovated garage.
Danielle uses ingredients from local farms whenever possible, including Ford and Nancy Hubbard’s eggs and sausage from their Belmont Stock Farm. Other local vendors include dairy from Strafford Creamery, Babette’s Table salami from Plainfield, and vegetables from Small Axe Farm, Wilder Farm, and Pete’s Greens. Cheeses from Jasper Hill Farm are on sale to complement her bread. On the next visit, I plan to order the breakfast sandwich, The Belmont Breakfast Bun, which is scrambled eggs, sausage, Cabot cheddar, and tomatoes baked in a bun. The sandwich is named after Farmer Ford, who delivers eggs and sausage every week and picks up her compost for his pigs.
During winter months, Danielle makes family-size take-home meals such as chicken potpie, vegetarian lasagna, pot roast, and soups. Her gratitude for her supportive community is inspiring, and her appreciation shows. She does her fair share of giving back. She purchases products from the Green Mountain Farm-to- School program, and they in turn approached her to prepare meals for the Everyone Eats program. Every Friday for a year, she made 112 meals for the food insecure during the pandemic, as well as 224 Thanksgiving dinners.
Paul and Ellie Kenworthy, who moved to East Burke from Chittenden County, share, “Auntie Dee Dee’s is a true treasure in our special corner of the state. Her food and service are truly outstanding and not to be missed.”
