Japanese Fruit Sandwich
Brighten your day with Japanese Fruit Sandwich! These fun and colorful Fruit Sando have fresh whipped cream with strawberries, oranges, and kiwis tucked between slices of pillowy Japanese milk bread. Bursting with juicy fresh fruit, they're a perfect breakfast or snack.
Servings: 4 (as a snack)
Calories: 347kcal
Ingredients
- 12 strawberries
- 2 kiwis
- 1 navel orange
- 4 slices shokupan (Japanese milk bread) (the same thickness as those from a square shokupan loaf cut into 8 slices)
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 5 tsp sugar (10% of heavy cream by weight)
- 1 tsp rum (optional)
Instructions
Before You Start...
- Please note that this recipe includes a chilling time of at least one hour or up to overnight.
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Fruit
- Use a small (paring) knife to remove the core of 12 strawberries.
- Use the knife to cut off both ends of 2 kiwis and peel the skin.
- Use a knife to cut off both ends of 1 navel orange. Peel the orange by hand and separate the orange segments. Using your fingers, carefully peel back and remove the membrane from the sides of each segment (leave the membrane on the outer edge in place). Continue with all the orange segments. Tip: Using your fingers to segment the slices keeps the pulp is intact and minimizes the juice.
- Set the prepared fruit on a tray or plate. Using a paper towel, pat the fruit dry to remove any excess moisture.
To Make the Whipped Cream
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl about half full with iced water. Then, set a medium bowl on top of the iced water in the larger bowl. Make sure the medium bowl is clean and dry. Next, add 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream to the medium bowl and whisk on low speed using an electric hand mixer.
- Once bubbly, add 5 tsp sugar and 1 tsp rum (optional) and whisk on medium-high speed.
- The cream will thicken as you whisk.
- When you lift the whisk out of the cream and it shows peaks, remove the bowl from the ice bath and switch to a hand whisk. Whisk until you achieve the right consistency and check as you go. Aim for medium peaks where the cream holds its shape when you lift the whisk, but the peak’s tip folds back on itself. The cream should be spreadable but not runny because it goes between the sandwich bread.
To Assemble the Sando
- Line up 4 slices shokupan (Japanese milk bread) on your work surface. Next, add a dollop of whipped cream to each bread slice and spread it evenly. Reserve some whipped cream for later to fill in the gaps after you add the fruit. Tip: I prefer to keep the crust on the bread until the end. When you put your fruit between the two slices of the bread, the crust helps the sandwiches keep their shape.
- Add the fruit next, placing it on only one slice of bread per sandwich. Think carefully how you want the cross section to look when you cut your sando in half, and align some of the fruit attractively along the cut line. I plan to cut the sandwiches diagonally into triangles, so I lined up my strawberries along the center diagonal to show their lengthwise cross section once sliced. For the kiwis and oranges, I chose a crosswise cross section. Tip: To keep track of your cut line, I recommend that you take a photo of your fruit's alignment and don‘t change the orientation of your sandwiches when you move them.
- Add more whipped cream to fill in any gaps between the fruit. You don‘t have to use all the whipped cream. Tip: If you have leftover whipped cream, you can dip fruit in it or make Fruit Parfait.
- For each sandwich, put the top slice of sandwich bread on the fruit with the whipped cream side down.
- Prepare sheets of plastic wrap large enough to encase each sandwich. Wrap each sandwich tightly on all four sides. Remember, don’t change the orientation of the sandwiches as you wrap them.
- With a marker pen, draw a line on the plastic wrap of each sandwich to mark your cut line with the attractive cross section.
- Put the sandwiches between plates to gently compress them. Refrigerate them for at least one hour (and up to overnight). In Japan, putting weight on a sandwich prior to cutting them in half is a standard method.
To Slice
- Remove the sandwiches from the refrigerator. Unwrap one sandwich and slice it in half along the marked cut line with a clean knife. Keep the sandwich halves closed (don’t open it up to show cross section yet). Clean the knife with a hot wet towel and repeat with the other sandwich.
- Gently hold down each sandwich and cut off the crusts, cleaning the knife with a hot wet towel between cuts. Tip: Don‘t throw away the crusts; repurpose them to make Shokupan Crust Rusks. These crunchy, buttery snacks are so delicious! You can make them now or freeze those crust strips to make them later.
- Now, you can reveal the cross section for the first time!
To Serve
- Serve immediately. If you plan to transfer the sandwich, make sure to keep it chilled all times.
To Store
- It‘s best to enjoy Fruit Sando as soon as possible after you cut it. You could keep it in the refrigerator overnight BEFORE cutting it in half.
Nutrition
Calories: 347 kcal · Carbohydrates: 33 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 23 g · Saturated Fat: 14 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 82 mg · Sodium: 147 mg · Potassium: 329 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 15 g · Vitamin A: 1005 IU · Vitamin C: 84 mg · Calcium: 140 mg · Iron: 1 mg