Book excerpt: Louise Johncox comes from a long line of bakers and confectioners. As a child she would sit on a flour tin at her father's side in the bakehouse and eat whatever was fresh from the oven - a hot bread roll or a fluffy piece of sponge - and when her father retired, Louise decided it was time to capture his wisdom and baking expertise, writing down his recipes for the first time and preserving his magical legacy for her children. A Life Shaped by Cakes shares family stories unravelled by Louise's baking sessions with her father. Weaving in childhood memories of the family tea shop, Peter's, with older events from her parents' youth and a few of her father's delicious recipes, this nostalgic memoir describes a life shaped by cakes. More recipes are shared in Louise Johncox's cookbook The Baker's Daughter: Timeless Recipes from Four Generations of Bakers.