When Rebecca Underly of Culinary Endeavors answered her door, she was dressed all in black. The only evidence of what she was doing when I arrived was the tantalizing smell of cake and the tiny specks of flour dust on the front of her shirt. 

My first reaction was to glance over her shoulder to find any available samples. I tried not to appear too eager, but it was nearly lunchtime and I had only had some goldfish crumbs that day. I was unable to mask my hopefulness or the Winnie-the-Pooh-like stomach grumbling. 

But knowing how hectic things are for Rebecca, I was sensitive to the ticking of the clock.

Rebecca was busy. Not just busy with her established clients and the rush of fall orders, but she was also making thousands of her signature cake pops before Saturday's Art on the Avenue. Her realtor had just called to say that she would be by around 3 p.m. to show someone their townhouse. And in between all of those things, Rebecca was putting the final touches on changes to her company, including creating a new strictly baking division called Del Ray Cakery. Despite all of these things, she smiled, as she always does, and welcomed me into her kitchen.

Before becoming the truffle and cake-pop lady known around the preschool circuit and playgroups, Rebecca was a second-grade teacher in Fairfax County. After a particularly exhausting and challenging year, she decided to take a leave of absence to spend more time doing what she loved—baking. She headed toward L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Md., and learned to do more than just bake; she learned to cook.

"I loved pastries and I loved baking," she said. "Culinary school opened up new options for me."

From there, the path Rebecca took mirrored that of a traditional chef's career. She worked at Chef Bethesda for a year, under an inspiring chef and gained a wealth of valuable knowledge. She headed to a month-long Cake School in Chicago and then enrolled in pastry school at L'Academie in the fall of 2002. She started working at Blair House in Washington, D.C., and served there as the pastry chef until her first son, J.P., was born in 2005.  

When J.P. was a year-and-a-half, Rebecca began food writing and developing for Try Foods International, a marketing firm. It was a perfect situation for her. She could do what she loved all from the comfort of home while also being with her small son.

While a contract employee at the Blair House, Rebecca started her own company, Culinary Endeavors. When she decided to do more than just write and develop recipes, Rebecca already had the "storefront" for an even bigger idea—baking for clients.

Now she doesn't just write, but has a host of loyal clients, working for small parties, big parties, birthdays and weddings.

"I bake for any kind of celebration," she said.

As a result of the changes she is currently making to her company, Del Ray Cakery will be home to her cupcakes, cakes and chocolates, while she will still continue to write and work on food development projects through Culinary Endeavors. The Del Ray Cakery website (delraycakery.com) is due to launch in the next few days.

J.P. is now 5, and her second son, Josh, is 3-and-a-half. Working from home with them is challenging.

"It is really, really hard," she said with a sigh.

Now that they are in school a portion of the day, she is able to get a lot of the prep work done, but there is still, like in the early days when the boys were still quite small, a lot of late-night baking, icing and decorating.

"I love it, though," she admitted. "I realize these crazy hours are only a temporary thing and soon the boys will be in school full-time, which will help me have a more regular schedule."

Like other mothers balancing a career that they love with the challenges of taking care of a home, Rebecca is able to find the joy in both.

The late nights are particularly exhausting leading up to an event. In the colder months, when she starts work on her chocolates, she is known to stay up till 3 or 4 in the morning to complete an order. 

"Then the boys wake up at 6:30. I am exhausted. And I am a waft of chocolate," she laughed.

As for her boys and their own culinary tastes, she said they are picky eaters.

"They are a chef's worst nightmare," she said.

J.P. used to be good about eating anything she gave him, but now he is more choosey about his meal choices.

As for Josh?

"He was always picky," she said.

When Rebecca is not up to her elbows in cake batter and rainbow sprinkles, she enjoys spending time outside with her boys.

"We like to ride bikes and go on adventures," she said. "They also can sit through a movie now, so that has become a favorite thing to do."

With Art on the Avenue days away, Rebecca is working overtime between her regular commitments and her role as full-time mom to have 5,000 cake pops ready to sell at her booth that will be set up outside Bean Creative. She will be selling them for $3 each or two for $5.  Be sure to visit Culinary Endeavors on Saturday to try one of these very tasty treats!

Rebecca creates fun everyday recipes for her family. One of the favorite Underly breakfasts is Egg in a Blanket. Here is her recipe:

Eggs in the Blanket

Prep time:  5 minutes

Bake time:  25 minutes

Total time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

3 whole eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 pkg. crescent roll sheet

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

2. In a small bowl add eggs. Mix. Add milk and stir. Season. Set aside.  

3. Open and unroll crescent sheet. Cut into eight equal squares. Slightly flatten each square with your fingertips. 

4. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Fit a square of dough into each muffin slot. Some of the dough will hang slightly over the sides. Repeat until each square is used. Add a little cheese to each muffin slot.  Slowly pour egg mixture over the cheese and almost to the top of each muffin slot.  

5. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden and set.  

6. Serve with fresh fruit, turkey sausage and yogurt. Delicious!

Yield: Makes 8 

 (Upon leaving Rebecca's house, I made a very quick and necessary detour to Giant to pick up crescent rolls. These were on the menu for the next day's breakfast.)

If you are or know a working Del Ray mom, please email me at delraypatch@gmail.com . I would love to share your story with our community!