The M&S strawberry sandwich has been making headlines across the UK. It’s been called delicious, disgusting, a cake, a sandwich and everything in between — but despite its fame, it’s extraordinarily hard to come by.
Stores have been selling out of these Japanese-inspired fruit sandwiches since their launch, and so I thought to myself, ‘I bet I could make that’. As it turns out, I could — and I reckon I did it even better. As luck would have it, when I popped into my local M&S for the ingredients to this sandwich, they actually did have their viral sandwiches in stock, so I picked one up.
Once I got home, I got myself organised to compare who could do it better — the professionals, or me in my shared flat kitchen armed with a hand whisk and strong sense of hubris.
I found a recipe on Instagram that recommended using crème fraiche and cream cheese in the filling and a sprinkling of icing sugar for an extra indulgent taste.
There weren’t any measurements on the recipe, so I measured with my heart, then whipped myself into a frenzy until the mixture was smooth and creamy.
I had also tried to get some brioche bread, but all M&S had was brioche buns, so I cut these into slightly less thick slices and halved a few ripe strawberries.
A dollop of filling went on the rather wonky slice of brioche, then the strawberries, and then more filling before I slapped the two halves together and cut them in half for a cross-section.
Mine may not have looked as pretty as the perfectly manicured M&S version, but looks can be deceiving.
I got my flatmate to try both sandwiches with me. There was no point in a blind taste test, as you could clearly see one was a little more rustic than the other, but I promised her I wouldn’t be offended if she preferred the M&S version.
However, she said she preferred my version of the strawberry sandwich—it was “less sweet” and “creamier” than the professional one.
We both agreed that both the real one and my version were definitely more cake-like than a sandwich, and both of us thought my version was better
It was an indulgent treat and really easy to make.
If you’re desperate to try this strawberry sandwich but can’t find it in store, making your own one is just as simple and tastes much better.
