Peach Earl Grey Sando
Fresh white peaches, earl grey infused cream are ayered between pillowy shokupan. This fruit sando takes the classic Japanese sandwich and gives it a floral, tea infused twist that's every bit as beautiful sliced open as it is to eat.
What is Fruit Sando
Fruit sando (or fruit sandwich) is a popular dessert sandwich in Japan. Fresh fruits, such as strawberries, kiwi, and mango, are sandwiched between fluffy shokupan and whipped cream. You can find them at a kissaten (a Japanese style coffee shop that also serves light meals) or at a konbini, or convenience store. It's sweet and dessert like, but since it's technically a "sandwich," I used to eat them for breakfast or lunch when I was living in Japan.
Growing up, the fruit used for fruit sando was mostly strawberries, orange, or kiwi, but lately I've seen a lot more variety in both the fruit and the cream. I first had a "fancy" fruit sando at a coffee shop in Kyoto a few years ago, and it was my first time trying one made with white peaches. It was so good, I still think about it.
Using Earl Grey Tea and Why
One of my favorite teas from Fortnum & Mason is their peach tea, and years ago there was a food trend in Japan of marinating peaches in Earl Grey tea leaves. This sandwich is inspired by that trend. I like using white peach over yellow peach here because white peach is milder with floral afternotes, and I think it pairs really well with Earl Grey. I like whipping the heavy cream by hand because I have more control over the texture, but feel free to use a stand mixer or hand blender if that's easier for you.
How to Remove the Pit from a Peach
You can remove a peach's pit using kitchen scissors. Insert the scissors into the stem side (not the tip), pinch the pit, and slowly pull it out without losing your grip. A ripe peach makes this much easier. That said, you don't need to remove the pit this way for this recipe, you can simply cut around it. The flesh closest to the pit can taste a bit astringent, so gently scrape that part away before using the rest.
Shokupan: Where to Get It
You can find shokupan at Asian bakeries like Paris Baguette or 85°C, or at most Asian grocery stores. Shokupan is very different from regular white sandwich bread, so when you try this recipe, please seek it out specifically. It's one of the main ingredients that makes this sandwich taste the way it should.
Once assembled, wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. This gives the bread and cream time to come together, and lets the cream set just enough to make cutting easier.
If you want a beautiful cross section, mark how you layered the fruit on the plastic wrap so you know exactly which diagonal to cut along.
This is a super easy dessert for whenever a sweet craving hits. Give it a try!
Peach Earl Grey Sando
Prep time 10 minutes
Rest time 40 minutes (or more)
Total time 50 min
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon earl grey tea leaves
2 tablespoon sugar
1 white peach
4 slices shokupan
Preparation
Finely grind tea leaves using a mortar and pestle. Add them to the heavy cream and infuse for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
In a medium size bowl, add the Earl Grey cream and sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipped Earl Grey cream (about 2 tablespoons each) onto one side of each shokupan slice. Arrange the cut peaches onto two slices of bread, forming an X. Top with the other 2 slices, cream side down. Wrap tightly in plastic and rest in the fridge for 10 minutes, up to 2 hours.
Unwrap the sandwiches and cut each one diagonally in half.
Serve immediately.