Julie Jones, also known as The Soulful Baker, is not your usual Instagram celebrity. The prominent patissier and cookbook author discovered her talent for baking following her mother’s diagnosis with dementia.

While caring for her mother, Julie discovered that baking was something that they could do together that would keep her calm and feeling confident.

“You couldn’t have a conversation with her or tell her what to do, but if you put a spoon in her hand, or a rolling pin, it would come automatically to her and she used to enjoy eating the cakes afterwards,” Julie said.

Following their weekly baking sessions together, Julie’s obsession grew, resulting in more and more intricate pastry designs.

In her first cookbook, The Soulful Baker, she writes: “What is important is to make these bakes your own, use these decorations as inspirations, as a starting point… it can be quite surprising what can appear in front of you when your creative side takes over!”

“Be spontaneous, be unique, be authentic, be proud of what you are making and most importantly, bake with love in your heart.”

Following the success of The Soulful Baker, Julie Jones’s second cookbook The Pastry School (Hachette Australia, $45) is due out on March 10, 2020. The culinary guide shows you how to make 10 types of pastry and includes more than 80 recipes for sweet and savoury pies. Follow her on Instagram at @julie_jonesuk.