For a dessert that's guaranteed to impress, try this rich, meringue-topped cake, generously heaped with fresh berries and cream. Here’s how to make it:

Gather your cake ingredients. You’ll need cooking spray; 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar; 4 large eggs at room temperature; 1 3/4 cups of cake flour; 2 teaspoons of baking powder; 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt; 1/2 cup sour cream; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 ounce of freeze-dried strawberries, coarsely crushed; and 4 large egg whites at room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring a two-inch overhang on both sides. Grease it lightly with cooking spray.

Mix together your butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, which should take around four minutes. Add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Next, sift together your cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine this with your butter mixture in three parts, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and ending with the flour mixture. Combine on a low speed until well-mixed. Stir in your vanilla then fold in your freeze-dried strawberries. Spread this into your prepared pan.

Whisk your egg whites using a stand mixer until foamy (about 30 seconds), before gradually adding in the rest of your sugar until your mixture becomes glossy and forms stiff peaks. Spread this meringue over the top of your cake batter, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges of your pan.

Bake your cake until the meringue is dry, and a skewer inserted through the meringue and the cake comes out clean. This should take between 22 to 26 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for around 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely.

In the meantime, heat your raspberry jam in the microwave until it’s smooth and melted, stirring every 15 seconds. Toss this with your berries, lemon juice, 4 teaspoons of sumac, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Leave to stand at room temperature for up to an hour.

Whisk together your heavy cream, sour cream, vanilla and the remaining salt. Gradually add the sugar, beating until it forms medium peaks. Transfer your cake to a serving board and remove the parchment paper. Top this with the cream mixture and, just before serving, add the berry mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining sumac.

And there you have it! Enjoy this cake at room temperature and remember, if you're not serving right away, it can be kept up to 6 hours. Cream topping should be refrigerated if not consumed immediately but can be left out for up to an hour before serving with the berry mixture. Freeze-dried berries can be typically found in the produce section or snack aisle of your grocery store.