Occasionally Cake recently hired Mount Vernon, Va. native Dana Bailey, 29, as a manager-in-training and a baker. 

Bailey is a recent graduate of Stratford University in Woodbridge with a degree in baking and pastry. Although she spent the past decade working in government administration, Bailey knew her calling was to be in the kitchen creating and designing cakes. 

“I enjoy the creative side of baking cakes, and inventing new cupcake flavors,” said Bailey. “I also love to see customers’ smiles when they see the finished cake."

Her favorite cup cake invention is Bananas Foster, made with banana cake dipped in dulce de leche with rum butter cream icing and sprinkled with brown sugar. 

When she’s not concocting new cupcake flavors, she enjoys reading and listening to music.