This One Thing: Andy Bowdy Resurrects His Hartsyard-Era Sundae

Andy Bowdy is the cake king. He’s loved for his celebration cakes at Saga, his slither of a cafe and bakery that sat on Enmore Road for six years, and before that his plated desserts at Newtown’s also closed Hartsyard. It was here that Sydneysiders fell for Bowdy’s swirling, decidedly American diner-style dessert: the peanut butter sundae. And it’s back.

The chef’s now captaining all things sweet at Kiln, the rooftop restaurant at the Ace Hotel.

“The 2.0 Kiln version differs slightly to the OG,” Bowdy tells Broadsheet. “You could say it’s grown up a bit.”

The flavours are still there: the banana, peanut butter, chocolate and pretzels. As are the fluorescent cherries. But it’s a bit more of a production.

“I have a few desserts that people hound me about bringing back and this one’s definitely at the top by a longshot. [A] sundae is unapologetically what it is: it’s nostalgic, it doesn’t need to be reimagined, it’s playful, it’s fun. It gives everyone that tries it that same child-like smile when it arrives at the table.”

Here are the details.

What: peanut butter and banana sundae.
How: banana is cooked in a dark caramel with a “good slosh” of bourbon, then blended till smooth for a banana jam. It’s topped with an aerated bourbon custard that Bowdy likens to his nan’s Christmas “free-pour brandy custard”. Then come the peanuts: first a slightly chewy peanut butter cookie, before the crunch of peanut butter, peanuts and feuilletine. Crushed pretzels are next, topped with peanut butter ice-cream, a salted dark chocolate fudge that’s the chef’s homage to the McDonald’s version. A pair of maraschino cherries for “straight-up nostalgia purposes”.
Cost: $26
Where: Kiln in Sydney.

@kilnsydney
@andybowdy