Gooseberry Slump

I spotted the last of the gooseberries in the freezer yesterday and with Bruce coming over to pick up the dogs who have been staying with me for a fortnight, I decided they would be perfect for some sort of dessert. I still had some medjool dates left over from Christmas so a plan was coming together in my mind, this is the result.

You will need
for the base
600g of gooseberries, other fruit would do equally well, apples, rhubarb, plums.
1 tablespoon of sugar

for the sponge
1 egg,
50 ml of milk
90g of self raising flour
60g of unsalted butter at room temperature
50g of sugar
100g of stoned dates
1 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt

for the crumble (enough for two dishes but easier to make in this quantity and it freezes really well)
150g of plain flour
100g of unsalted butter
70g of sugar

Place the gooseberries with the sugar in an ovenproof dish.

Make the crumble topping by combining all ingredients in a food processor and pulsing until a fine crumb consistency is achieved. Set to one side.
make the sponge by placing the dates, flour, baking powder and sugar in a food processor and processing until the dates are finely ground. Add the butter, egg, milk and salt and process only until the mixture is soft and thoroughly combined.

Place the sponge in spoonfuls on top of the fruit, spreading out evenly, finally sprinkle on the crumble. Bake in a moderate 160 C oven for 50 to 60 minutes until cooked. A wooden skewer when pushed into the sponge should come out clean when fully cooked. 

Notes:
If you make this with rhubarb pulsing up 4 or 5 cubes of glacé ginger in wiht the dates makes an excellent addition.