Fruit Sando
This Japanese fruit sandwich, aka Fruit Sando, is a sweet sandwich made with soft white bread, fluffy whipped cream, and fresh fruits. It’s pretty, refreshing, and fun – like eating a sweet, fluffy cloud!
Easy Japanese Fruit Sando Recipe
A soft, fluffy-as-a-cloud sandwich stuffed with sweet summer fruit? Yes, please! You’re gonna love this pretty Fruit Sando!
A Japanese fruit sandwich, or fruit sando as it’s commonly called, is a fun, unexpected (sweet!) way to make a sandwich. Because here in the States, we tend to always think “savory” with sandwiches.
This easy recipe features soft, pillowy bread sandwiching a fluffy combination of lightly sweetened whipped cream and cream cheese, plus fresh fruit. You’ll be smiling after just one bite – it’s like eating a sweet cloud!
Fruit sandos are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack. Or how about a tea party?! They’re an especially refreshing treat when served straight from the fridge on a hot summer afternoon!
Why You’ll Love This Fruit Sandwich
A fruit sandwich is something you just don’t see everywhere. It’s soft, lightly sweet, and studded with fresh seasonal fruit. Here’s why my family loves it:
- A FRUIT sandwich! We love the idea of a sweet sandwich made with fresh fruit! It’s so different from other sandwiches we make.
- Soft and lightly sweet flavors. Fruit sandwiches always feature a super soft white bread, lightly sweetened whipped cream, and beautiful fresh fruit. I added some tangy cream cheese to the whipped cream, for extra body and flavor – it’s irresistible!!
- Beautiful, yet easy. Fruit sandos are striking, with their stuffing of fluffy whipped cream and colorful fruits. They look like pieces of art, and you’ll be surprised at just how easy they are to make!
- Versatile. You can enjoy a fruit sando any time of day – for breakfast, lunch, or dessert. And you can use whatever fruit is in season.
What Is A Fruit Sando?
A fruit sando, short for fruit sandwich, is a popular Japanese dessert or snack that features whipped cream and fresh fruits sandwiched between two slices of soft, fluffy bread. Served cold, it’s a refreshing, visually appealing treat that is most often enjoyed during the summer in Japan.
Traditionally, the bread used is a fluffy milk bread, also known as shokupan in Japan. The crust is cut off and the sandwich is cut into 2 (or more) pieces to reveal the interior’s creamy, fluffy filling and pretty fruit design.
Fruit sandwiches can feature a variety of fresh fruit, such as kiwis, peaches, blueberries, and mango. Strawberries are especially popular – many call this simply a “strawberry sando”.
Recipe Ingredients
You won’t need many ingredients to make this sweet sandwich. Here’s an overview of what’s included in this recipe.
For the exact ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Soft white bread – Japanese milk bread, or shokupan, is the traditional bread used. It has a dense-yet-fluffy texture and a lightly sweet flavor. If you’re fortunate enough to have easy access to shokupan, you are truly lucky. If not, use your favorite soft, white bread.
- Heavy whipping cream – For the ultimate rich, creamy, fluffy filling.
- Cream cheese – Cream cheese adds a tangy flavor that’s extra rich and creamy.
- Sugar – To lightly sweeten the filling.
- Vanilla extract – Use only pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Fruit – You’ll want to use especially beautiful fruit, as it really is the star of this sandwich. Strawberries are very popular, and I think that kiwi are especially fun!
Can I Use Other Fruits?
You absolutely can – and should! – use other fruit to make a fruit sando.
The most important thing to remember is to choose beautiful fruits with flavors that you love. I already mentioned strawberries and kiwi. But blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, mango, pineapple, pitted cherries, and oranges would all be beautiful, delicious choices.
How to Make a Fruit Sando
Here’s my simple, failproof method for making a fruit sando:
Make the whipped cream mixture: Whip heavy cream until it’s stiff, then beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. It’ll be creamy and fluffy – absolutely delicious!
- Spread on the whipped cream mixture. Place the bread slices on a clean work surface and spread a layer of the whipped cream mixture over the top.
- Add the fruit in a pretty arrangement. Arrange the fresh fruit on top of the whipped cream layer, visualizing how the fruit will look when you cut the sandwich.
- Add more whipped cream mixture. Cover the fruit layer with another layer of whipped cream mixture, spreading it evenly to cover the entire surface.
- Top with another slice of bread. Press another slice of bread down gently on top, to finish the sandwich.
- Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap. Wrap the sandwiches tightly with plastic wrap and place them on a sheet pan. Mark the direction of the diagonal fruit line on the plastic with a marker, as this will guide you when cutting the sandwich later.
- Press and chill the sandwiches. To help the sandwiches hold their shape, place another sheet pan on top, then add something heavy and firm on top to press them evenly. Refrigerate for at least an hour to set.
- To serve, trim off the crusts. Once chilled and set, remove the plastic wrap and trim off the bread crusts using a sharp knife. This will give the sandwiches straight, clean edges.
- Slice the sandwiches. Cut the sandwiches into desired shapes, such as triangles or rectangles.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate. Enjoy the fruit sando immediately, or refrigerate up to a few hours more.
Tips & Variations
Fruit sandos are easy to make, I promise. Here are my best tips, plus a few variations:
- Whip the cream until stiff. For the most stability, be sure to whip the heavy cream until it is very stiff.
- Soften the cream cheese. Let the cream cheese soften to soft room temperature before you beat it with the sugar and vanilla. This will help to eliminate any lumps.
- Dry the fruit thoroughly. After washing fruits like berries, be sure to dry them as best you can. You don’t want excess water to make the whipped cream mixture loose and watery.
- Arrange the fruits so they’ll look pretty when the sandwich is cut. When adding the fruit to the filling, arrange them in a line so they’ll look nice when cutting the sandwich.
- Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap. Wrap the sandwiches tightly in plastic to seal in the filling while they rest. This helps the fluffy sandwich firm up.
- Chill the sandwich. Allow the fruit sando to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This helps the layers to set and the flavors to meld together. It also makes the sandwich easier to cut.
- Place a weight on top of the prepared sandwiches. This will help the sandwiches to set more solidly in the fridge.
- Knife tips. Use a sharp, serrated knife and use a slight sawing motion to cut the sandwiches. Take care to not press/squish the bread while cutting. And clean your knife after each cut, for clean edges!
- Try different fruit. You can stick with just one fruit or use a combination of two, three, or more fruits for a single sandwich. I encourage you to make the most of seasonal fruits. Right now, summer’s delicious cherries or peaches would make a fabulous fruit sando!
- Skip the cream cheese. If cream cheese isn’t your favorite, leave it out. Replace it with more stiffly whipped cream, and add the sugar and vanilla in at the end. Just know that the filling will be even softer without the cream cheese.
Should a Japanese Fruit Sandwich Be Made in Advance?
Yes, you should plan ahead and make your fruit sando in advance of eating.
You’ll want to allow the sweet sandwiches to set up and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before eating them. This time helps the whipped cream mixture to solidify a bit, plus lets the flavors meld.
How long does it keep?
Fruit sandos will keep well in the fridge for up to two days when still wrapped tightly in the plastic wrap. As the whipped cream mixture breaks down over time, it can cause the bread to become soggy.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve fruit sandos any time you like, but here are some suggestions!
- During the summer. On a hot day, this refreshing, cold sweet treat hits the spot. You can make the sandwiches in the morning and enjoy them later, in the heat of the day.
- For a tea party. Fruit sandos are ideal for serving at a bridal or baby shower tea. Cut each sandwich into quarters to make smaller tea sandwiches, then serve with other little sandwiches like cucumber-cream cheese sandwiches.
- With breakfast. Serve this sweet treat alongside savory breakfast foods such as my overnight egg bake, a quiche, cheesy hashbrown casserole, or skillet potatoes with bacon.
- For lunch. A fruit sandwich would be lovely served with lunchtime salads such as bacon ranch pasta salad, Chinese chicken salad, or sun dried tomato pasta.
- As a snack. Sometimes I need a little something to eat in between meals. Hello, Fruit Sando!
- As dessert. Serve this sweet, fluffy, gorgeous little treat at the end of any meal. This is guaranteed to make people happy!
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Fruit Sando
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 slices of soft fluffy white bread – Japanese milk bread, or shokupan, is the traditional bread called for
- Assorted fruits such as strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apricots, pineapple, pitted cherries, and naval oranges – washed and thoroughly dried
Instructions
- For the whipped cream mixture: In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff. Start out on low to medium speed, then increase to high speed as the mixture thickens.
- In another medium bowl, with same electric mixer (no need to clean the beaters) on medium-high to high speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Gently fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, until just evenly combined.
- For the fruit sando: Place 4 bread slices on a clean work surface and spread a layer of whipped cream mixture onto each slice.
- Arrange assorted fruits on top of the whipped cream layer, visualizing how the fruit sandwiches will look when they're cut.
- Spread another layer of the whipped cream mixture evenly over the fruit layer, to create an even layer out to the edges of the bread.
- Place a bread slice on top of the whipped cream layer, gently pressing down. Repeat until all 4 fruit sandwiches are made.
- Wrap the fruit sandwiches tightly with plastic wrap and place them on a sheet pan. If desired, use a marker to draw a line where you want to cut the fruit sandwich, to get a pretty design of cut fruit.
- To help the sandwiches hold their shape, place another sheet pan on top of the fruit sandwiches, and add something to evenly weigh down the top sheet pan a bit. Refrigerate the sandwiches for at least an hour to chill and set.
- To serve: Once chilled, remove the plastic wrap and trim off the crusts of the bread slices using a sharp serrated knife, creating clean edges.
- Cut the sandwiches into desired shapes, such as triangles or rectangles. Follow the cut lines if you marked the plastic wrap.
- Serve the fruit sando immediately, or refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld together.
Nutrition Information:
More Fruit Desserts
- Peach Pie
- Sweet Cherry Pie
- Apple Crisp
- Strawberry Crunch Cake
- Strawberry Sauce
- Blueberry Dump Cake
- Strawberry Cupcakes
