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a plain plate of closed crustless white-bread triangle sandwiches with thin red strawberry slices between smooth white mascarpone layers, without powdered sugar on the outside or garnish
Melissa Hart

Strawberry Tea Sandwiches

Keep the strawberries unsugared so they stay in clean slices instead of releasing a bowlful of syrup before the sandwiches are built. The mascarpone gets the small amount of sweetness, along with vanilla, and goes on both sides of the bread to hold the fruit in place. These belong at the sweeter end of a tea tray, but they still eat like a sandwich rather than a slab of cake. Use soft bread with a fine crumb and cut with a light hand. This is one filling I wouldn’t assemble the night before, because fresh berry slices gradually soften the bread even when you’ve blotted them carefully.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz firm ripe strawberries hulled
  • 8 oz mascarpone cool but spreadable
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 12 thin slices soft white sandwich bread

Method
 

  1. Slice strawberries lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick. Lay the slices on paper towels and blot their surfaces gently without crushing the fruit.
  2. Stir mascarpone with powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Avoid prolonged beating, which can make the cheese grainy.
  3. Spread the mascarpone mixture evenly over one face of every bread slice. Cover six slices with a single overlapping layer of strawberries, trimming pieces to fill gaps.
  4. Close with the remaining bread, spread sides inward. Trim crusts with a sharp serrated knife and cut each sandwich diagonally in both directions.
  5. Yield 24 small triangles, two per serving. Cover and refrigerate promptly, then serve within 4 hours so the berry layers and bread stay distinct.