Geishas Eat Fake Cake
Japanese fruit sandwiches with a Weightlifting Fairy variation
White bread. Whipping cream. Strawberries. Those three simple ingredients are all it takes to make Japanese fruit sandwiches (aka fruit sandos). While it’s not a difficult recipe, putting it together is more challenging than you might think so I’m recreating in this post the fruit sandwiches that were featured in Episode 6 of Netflix’s Makanai.
If the thought of white bread and whipping cream doesn’t float your boat or you don’t have an egg beater, I also have two variations at the end that might appeal to you.
The Story
Makanai is a nine-episode Netflix series about geishas and food. Two teenagers set off to Kyoto to become maikos (apprentice geishas). One of them, Sumire, is prodigiously talented and could be the geisha GOAT of her generation. The other, Kiyo, is a total washout as a maiko, but she’s a marvelous cook. She stays as the makanai (staff cook) for the maikos and supervisors living in the house.
In Episode 6, it’s the holiday season. The trees of Kyoto are decked out in lights and ornaments. There’s even a ceramic Christmas tree on the counter where Kiyo prepares all the meals.
On Christmas Eve, Kiyo prepares a fruit sandwich for Sumire, who claps her hands in delight when she sees what Kiyo is making.
“This is pretty much a cake,” Sumire says.
Kiyo agrees and calls it a “Christmas cake substitute.”
The Christmas cake that Kiyo is referring to is one of Japan’s Yuletide traditions. It’s a simple but lovely dessert made from sponge cake and topped with whipped cream and strawberries.
The cakes are discounted after December 25th because the whipped cream topping doesn’t hold up too well.
A “Christmas cake” in Japan is also a derogatory term used to refer to single women who are over the age of 25 and considered past their prime. Thankfully, that phrase is not used as much now because women are waiting longer to get married.
The Food
In my opinion, a fruit sandwich don’t taste too much like Japanese Christmas cake, even though the cake is not terribly sweet. I would categorize it as a snack—like a tea sandwich. Not a dessert and certainly not an entree or main course.
Kids will love these. Good for bridal or baby showers and tea parties. Men like them less than women—though my husband eventually ate most of my practice sandwiches. They’re a great snack to eat while watching Asian dramas.
Recipe Notes:
Bread: Kiyo used the same milk bread that she used to make the bread pudding in Episode 3. Brioche bread works even better here because it is slightly sweeter. A loaf of King Hawaiian Bread would probably be good too.
Fruit: Strawberries are the most commonly used fruit—often solo in the sandwich. Kiyo used strawberries and some canned peaches and mandarin orange sections. You can also use kiwi, grapes, pineapple, etc. However, it is important to include a very sturdy fruit like strawberries or kiwi to give structure to the sandwich. I tried one with only canned peaches and mandarin oranges, and it slid apart. I don’t recommend frozen fruit because those will bleed into your whipping cream.
If you want yours to look like Kiyo’s, you need to use small strawberries or else they won’t fit on the bread. If you go with a design of your own, keep in mind that the diagonals are what you want to focus on.
Whipping cream: I used powdered sugar in my whipping cream because that’s what I always use. It contains a touch of cornstarch, which stabilizes the whipping cream a bit.
Make sure your bowl and beaters are very clean and very cold before making the whipping cream.
Fingers: I did a lot of nudging with my fingers to get the sandos to look somewhat like Kiyo’s. The fruit fell out, slid out or was trimmed out. I tucked it all back in. Don’t forget Kiyo had a food stylist–you have to DIY it.
My “undressed” fruit sandwich.
The Recipe
Makes 2 sandwiches, each cut into 4 pieces
I adapted this recipe from Just One Cookbook’s Japanese Fruit Sandwich (Fruit Sando)
Ingredients:
4 slices of milk bread (See notes for alternatives)
4 small strawberries with hulls removed
1 small can of cling peaches
1 small can of mandarin oranges
½ cup whipping cream (Keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to beat it)
1 1/2 T powdered sugar
Mint leaves (optional)
Instructions:
Put a very clean metal mixing bowl and egg beaters (or wire whip if you have a Kitchen Aide) in the freezer until very cold. (At least 15 minutes)
Take 2 slices of the peaches and 8 segments of mandarin oranges and blot them dry with a paper towel. Also use a paper towel to dry the strawberries.
Cut each peach slice horizontally into 3 chunks.
Do a quick practice layout on the bread. You can put a piece of plastic wrap or paper towel on the bread to protect it. Remove it when you are done practicing.
It may help to do a practice layout before you make the whipping cream. Dry the fruit thoroughly before putting it on the bread. Working quickly, take the mixing bowl and egg beaters from the freezer and the whipping cream from the refrigerator. Pour the cream into the bowl, and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds or until frothy.
Add the powdered sugar to the whipping cream. Beat on medium high speed until the whipping cream firmly holds its shape when the beater is removed. (Takes two or three minutes at most.)
Beat the whipping cream until it firmly holds its shape. Don’t beat too long or you’ll end up with butter. Making one sandwich at a time, slather whipping cream on two slices of bread. Make sure the slices will match when you put one on top of the other.
Lay the fruit on one slice of bread. Cover with the other slice. Repeat with the other two slices of bread.
Next time, I would cut all my fruit the same size, even if it meant shaving off a lot of strawberry. My bread was not symmetrical, which made things harder. Wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap. If you are only putting fruit on one diagonal, mark with a pen where that is on the wrap.
Place the sandwich in the refrigerator with a plate on top for 3 to 8 hours.
Remove the sandwich from the refrigerator and take off the plastic wrap.
Carefully cut the crusts from the sandwich with a sharp knife. Rinse and wipe the knife dry after each cut.
Cut along both diagonals. Again rinse and wipe the knife after each cut. If you only have fruit on one diagonal, cut along that diagonal first.
All dressed up. The greenery is from the stem of the strawberry. To make it look like Kiyo’s substitute Christmas cake, form a square with two triangle pieces. Top with a touch of whipped cream, strawberry, and a mandarin orange. I used the green leaves from the strawberry as a decoration. Kiyo used a tiny mint leaf.
Fruit Sandwich Hacks:
If you don’t have an egg beater, you can use a commercial whipped topping like Reddi-Wip or Cool Whip. Do NOT put the sandwiches in the refrigerator with a plate on top. Eat them immediately because the whipped topping doesn’t hold up too long.
Is it as good as real whipped cream? No, because real whipped cream tastes better. However, I made some, and the sandwiches were still pretty tasty.
There are other fillings that you can use besides whipping cream. In the K-drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo (Viki), the female lead makes a fruit sandwich for her boyfriend with strawberries and a tub of Philly cream cheese. Then she drizzles honey on top and adds some mint leaves and pistachios. Mascarpone cheese with honey would be good too.
If you make fruit sandwiches, let me know how they turned out. Drop me an email or leave a comment below.