It's officially a month until and if you've already started thinking about the food, why not try and make your own for the celebration? When it comes to renowned chef , you know her recipes can never fail you, and this is specifically "foolproof", meaning you don't have to worry about making any mistakes because it's super easy to follow.

Though it might seem too early to start preparing for the making of these special goods, in fact, it's not as the great thing about them is that you can store them up for up to a month, giving you plenty of time to enjoy. Mary Berry's method involves 12 ingredients for the hot cross buns and then an additional two for the topping, but don't let that put you off because making it is well worth it.

• 500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75g caster sugar
• Two teaspoon mixed spice
• One teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A lemon, finely grated zest only
• 10g salt
• 10g fast-action dried yeast
• 40g butter
• 300ml milk
• One free-range egg, beaten
• 200g
• 50g finely chopped mixed candied peel
• oil, for greasing

For the topping:

• 75g plain flour
• Two tablespoons of golden syrup, for glazing

The recipe starts off with putting the flour, sugar, spices and lemon zest in a large bowl to be mixed together, and then adding in the salt and the yeast, but placing them on opposite sides of the bowl. Next, you'll want to melt the butter and milk in separate pans. Once that is done, add the butter and half of the tepid milk to the dry ingredients before adding in the egg.

Using your hands you're going to bring the mixture together, incorporating the flour from the edges of the bowl as you go. Then it's time to "gradually" add the remaining mix in order to form a soft pliable dough.

Now that your dough is ready pop it onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it by hand while adding in the and mixed peel. Keep doing this for 10 minutes until the dough is "silky and elastic" and forms a smooth ball.

These few next steps requires patience, but it also means you can have well deserved breaks. Oil a bowl and place the dough inside, covering it with cling film and leaving it to rest in a warm place for around one and a half hours or until the size of it has doubled.

Once it is at the right size, take it out and place it on a lightly floured surface before kneading it for another five minutes. Then pop it back in the bowl, covering it with cling film and leave it to rise in a warm place for another hour, or until it has doubled in size again.

Then, pop the dough back onto a floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces, shaping them into balls. Then you'll want to line one or two baking trays with paper. Place the balls on the tray "fairly close together" while flattening them slightly before you slip the trays into large clean polythene bags, ensuring that the bags do not touch the buns. Leave them for 40 to 60 minutes or until they have doubled in size, whilst you get on with the fun parts.

Preheat the oven to 200C or gas mark 7, and then mix the plain flour with 100ml of water to create a paste. Spoon that into an icing bag fitted with a 3mm nozzle and pipe a cross onto each bun once they have risen. If you don't have an icing bag, the chef says, "you could use a piping bag or plastic food bag and snip the end off."

Bake the buns for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pale-brown, turning the baking trays halfway through "if necessary."

Melt two tablespoons of golden syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm brush them with a little syrup giving them a "nice shine" and letting them cool aside on a wire rack.

This recipe might seem long but actually it doesn't take much "active time" which means you can do a bunch of other stuff in between the steps and still come out with delicious hot cross buns.