Begin by making the dough. Place the flour, caster sugar, butter, eggs, yeast, salt and milk into a large bowl. Add about half of the water and slowly mix everything together with your hands

Add the remaining water slowly to make a soft dough. It will be sticky at this stage but it will become smooth as you knead it

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 15 minutes, or until smooth and elastic

Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. I do this but cutting it in half, then each half in half and so on until you have 12 pieces

Roll each piece into a ball, flatten slightly and then roll the edges over into the middle with your fingers. My girls call this ‘making a flower’

Flatten again slightly and then gently stretch each piece into a finger shape about 5 inches long

Grease a baking tray lightly with butter or baking paper and place the dough fingers on top. Remember to leave enough space for them to double in size

Set them aside in a warm place for 40 minutes and preheat an oven to 220°C/gas mark 7

Bake the buns for about 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool

When they are completely cool, make the icing. Sift the icing sugar in a large bowl and gradually stir in about 5tsp of cold water to form a smooth, thick paste – it should be thick enough so it won’t slide off the bun but not so thick that you need to use a knife to spread it

Dip the top side of each bun in the icing to evenly coat and arrange across a tray. Working quickly before the icing dries, decorate the iced tops with your chosen sweets and garnishes