I was browsing through my Evernote notebook of clipped recipes looking for suitable cakes for my Christmas charity cake stall, and came across a very brief recipe for Bosworth jumbles. No idea where I got it from. It sounded very easy, and I had all the ingredients, so I went for it.
I baked them in mini muffin moulds and I think they will be perfect. Just the right size to go with a cup of espresso, and a lovely texture midway between cake and shortbread. Before I started this blog post I decided to google them, hoping to find the source. I found several recipes, but unlike the one I had (“whack the mixture into a muffin tray”), they all said to shape them into an S-shape, with one outlier going for a figure 8. You can read about their history here.
Anyway, I will stick with my mini muffins. They are so easy — just be careful not to overbake or they will be hard rather than slightly crumbly. You could drizzle icing over them if you like — a simple icing of lemon juice and icing sugar would be good, and will use some of the juice of the lemons you zested. Other flavours will work too — orange zest, or simply vanilla for example.
This quantity makes about 30 mini muffins.
170 g butter at room temperature
170 g caster sugar
1 egg
Finely grated zest of 2 untreated lemons
220 g flour
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Cream together the butter and sugar till well blended and creamy. Add the lemon zest and beat in the egg a small amount at a time. Then gradually add the flour, beating well to combine.
Dollop heaped teaspoons of the mixture into greased muffin moulds and smooth them with a wet knife. Bake for about 15 minutes, until they are light gold at the edges. When ready, remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.