Poppy (aged 10) devised this cake which won Clore Shalom School’s Summer Fair Bake Off  

• For the sponge: heat oven, 150°C (fan) and weigh the eggs. 
• Now weigh an equal weight of each of the margarine, caster sugar and flour.
• Cream the margarine and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time to the mixture, beating well. Add the vanilla extract.
• Sieve the flour and salt into the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon. Gently incorporate the milk then spoon the mixture into 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• Once cooled, spread a layer of strawberry jam on top of each layer and sandwich together.
• For the icing: Beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add half the icing sugar and beat again until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, 1 tbsp milk and the vanilla extract. Beat again until creamy and smooth, adding the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
• Ice the sides and top of the cake.
• For the meringues: Heat the oven to 100°C fan. Line 1 -2 baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Tip the egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Beat them until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Add the caster sugar, a spoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. When all the caster sugar is added the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift a third of the icing sugar over the mixture and gently fold in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. l Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Spoon heaped spoonfuls of mixture onto the baking sheet (or pipe small mounds, if you prefer). Once cooked and cooled the meringue will be broken up, so doesn’t need to look perfect!
• Bake for about 90 minutes in a fan oven (1 hour 15 minutes for conventional oven) until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour. Cool on the trays or a cooling rack.
• Once cooled, place in a large food bag and gently crush – leaving some bigger pieces.
• Stick crushed meringue to the icing on the side of the cake and decorate with strawberries and blueberries.