It’s a Saturday early summer afternoon. What seems like every few seconds, Elyse Purbaugh glances up at her rearview mirror, something that has become second nature ever since her daughter Josephine was born. But this time, instead of a baby in the backseat, it was a cake.

The longtime Southie resident and owner of Weesh Bake Shop in Roslindale was delivering a wedding cake right in her own backyard, kind of, to Artists for Humanity.

Growing up, she wanted to be a school bus driver. She loved the thought of driving from house to house, picking kids up and making them happy along the way.

While she doesn’t drive a school bus filled with kids, just a mom car filled with a few baby toys and occasional cakes, it’s safe to say she has spent her years making people happy in other ways…ways that primarily involve sugar.

THE FIRST BATCH 

Purbaugh’s young professional years were spent as a first grade teacher and a literacy specialist. After getting home from long days at school, she found a much needed creative (and most importantly quiet) outlet in baking.

With no formal pastry schooling and a disinterest in actually eating cake (the grocery store sheet cakes left a bad taste in her mouth) she wanted to make things that actually looked AND tasted good.

Hours upon hours and eggs upon eggs were spent recipe testing. Her vanilla cake recipe definitely made her question her life choices at times. In her own words, it gave her hell.

One she was able to nail down was her hummingbird cake recipe, which is basically a mix between banana bread, carrot cake and spice cake. In 2018, she made that flavor for her sister’s baby shower cake decorated with safari animals and leaves.

After the party, she received an email from the manager of the venue asking if the safari cake was made by her…and if the answer was yes, if she wanted to bake cakes for them.

That was the “a-ha” moment when she realized maybe she was onto something here. At first, she only ever saw it being a side project and never imagined that she would receive enough orders where she wouldn’t be able to teach as well.

But the Baking Powers That Be came to the conclusion that this is what she was meant to be doing. Her literacy program got cut during the pandemic, and she was offered a new position that she ultimately decided she didn’t want. Instead, she wanted to focus on growing her family and rolling up her sleeves in the kitchen, ready to take on the new opportunity ahead.

Her literacy program got cut during the pandemic, and she suddenly had the time and opportunity to really roll up her sleeves and fully go for it.

WEESH PURBAUGH 

Once it became clear that the kitchen space she was renting in Belmont was no longer able to sustain all the sugar and sprinkles, Purbaugh found the perfect spot in Roslindale. Previously a cheese shop, the bakery would bring light to a strip of closed storefronts.

The intent was never for it to become a full-time retail bakery, but instead, a specialty cake and event ordering headquarters with fun pop-ups and occasional decorating classes. But eventually, the truth was in the pudding.

“Over time, a lot of people wanted a bakery in the community and I saw it as a great opportunity for them to try the product,” Purbaugh said. In 2023, they opened for retail on Saturdays. “I wanted to see it through, see where it went and what could happen with it.”

As for the name of the shop…she would name it Weesh.

It was her elementary school nickname born out of an attempt for kids to say “Elyse” that has never faded. Even her parents still call her that. In fact, people rarely use her real name!

SELF DOUBT AND SPICY BROWNIES 

Being one of 100+ bakeries in and around Boston is hard in itself. Being a self-taught baker and business owner is even harder.

Purbaugh doesn’t have professional pastry school experience. As she likes to call it, she went to The School of YouTube to learn everything she knows about cake decorating. As for the actual baking part, she attributes that to her mom, years of practice and some trial and error.

One day in elementary school, “Weesh” had her friends over and they decided to make brownies. She had done this a million times with her mom and felt confident in taking the lead. She felt especially confident in the idea that you could substitute a called for oil with any other kind of oil you have readily available.

Chili pepper oil was within reach and seemed like it would do the trick. Next thing you know, the girls were coughing over the sink because of how spicy the brownies were. It was her first of many whoopsies and something she and her friends still laugh about to this day.

Although she has since learned the truth about oil substitution rules and has recognized how far she’s come by looking back at old creations, there are still times when a little imposter syndrome sneaks in.

“There’s definitely self-doubt. Even when you’re proud of a cake, you’re still like, it can be better. I don’t think that feeling ever ends. I try to be proud of myself in certain moments because I think you can get really caught up in the comparison game.”

Want to know the cure for self-doubt? Making a birthday cake for Joe Jonas. Or Weezer.

Whichever or whoever you prefer.

Lucky for her, she didn’t have to choose. She was asked to do both!

PERSONALITY THE SIZE OF A [INSERT A REALLY BIG DESSERT HERE] 

One thing that has helped Weesh continue to thrive over the years is the fact that Purbaugh has been able to distinguish her bakery from others through its personality.

People hear Weesh and instead of just thinking cupcakes and cookies, they think mini Weeshtarts (Pop-Tarts), cake jars and dessert grazes.

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A post shared by Elyse Purbaugh | Weesh Bake Shop (@weeshbakes)

“There are a lot of bakers who gravitate toward people who want the five-tier wedding cake. And that’s not me,” she said.

Yes, Purbaugh wants to make your wedding cake. But she also wants to make a beautiful baked good graze that matches the venue for the rest of the guests to enjoy.

*If you aren’t familiar with a graze, picture your kitchen table absolutely covered with treats in a beautiful, organized and delicious way*

She got the idea from fellow business owner and best friend Monisha Misra, charcuterie connoisseur and owner of Boardeaux.

“I’ve always admired her business, she is one of the best entrepreneurs I know. I was just enamored by her ability to take a pretty simple concept like cheese and crackers and elevate it and scale it in a major way.”

There wasn’t really a market for dessert boards or grazes in Boston, so Purbaugh decided to put all of her delicious homemade, high-quality goodies into one big option.

In addition to mini cookies, cupcakes and coconut bars, you can find her signature Weeshtarts on those dessert boards and grazes in mini or regular sizes. Inspired by one of her favorite nostalgic childhood snacks, she uses a shortbread dough instead of a pie crust dough. The standard flavors are brown sugar, berry and savory everything bagel, but she also does limited edition flavors like s’mores, key lime, hot chocolate peppermint and more.

WHAT’S NEXT 

After 6 years, 2,000+ cakes made and more Weeshtarts than one could count, Purbaugh made the hard decision to close the retail side of Weesh this past June.

Although engaging with the community was of course special and rewarding, with the custom order demand, the team needed that extra day in the kitchen to focus solely on those orders.

The good news is, there will be a handful of pop-up shop dates in the coming months so customers can still come and buy some treats in real time! Put the following dates in your calendar: September 19, October 17, November 21 and December 19.

With cake classes, pre-orders, corporate orders, custom cakes and event catering continuing, Purbaugh also hopes this next chapter brings more wholesale opportunities. She would love to see the Weeshtarts in more stores around the city and beyond.

Out in the wild, you can find the tarts at Sunny Girl in the North End (and soon-to-be Southie!), Hamersley’s Pantry in Southie in the freezer section, and Formaggio in Cambridge in the freezer section.

If you want to place a pre-order, pickup windows are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but if you live in Southie, just let her know. She’s always willing to make a stop on her way home!

–

As she sits at the stoplight before Artists for Humanity, glancing up for one last look at the cake, Purbaugh thinks back to those afternoons baking in the kitchen with her mom and friends after school.

If only she could tell the younger version of herself who used the chili pepper oil that she would one day own a bake shop of her own.

Then, a lightbulb went off in her head.

What if I add a spicy brownie to the menu…?