I had a dessert this week that transported me to the good old days of roadhouses, Milky Lanes, Dairy Dens and drive-ins. They all served great burgers in red plastic woven baskets, and supersized double-thick malts that tasted just as good whether you ordered them through a speaker phone or from a girl on roller skates. It’s the banana splits that I find hard to describe to my kids though, they just don’t seem to be the same these days.

Take one not-too-ripe banana, slit in half lengthwise, top with scoops of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream, drizzle with hot-choc fudge sauce and strawberry sauce – some say pineapple syrup is an essential ingredient too. And don’t to forget a good squirt of airy cream and maybe a maraschino cherry. And it has to be served in a glass boat-shaped dish.

Things have got all fancy nowadays and sometimes I’m all for it. I visited chef Richard Carstens at Chez D’Or in Franschhoek on Sunday and found one very posh take on a banana split that I haven’t stopped dreaming about since. A ball of creamy ice cream with an immensely sticky texture but bursting with banana flavour, nestled on a smear of silky white-chocolate pâté, topped with tiny cubes of dense chocolate brownie. And to finish off, a drizzle of fresh pea and wasabi purée. I am a pudding girl at heart and this dessert confirmed that Richard is just what a girl needs close by. Richard will be on the move soon, so watch this space!

Happy dessert-eating!
Abigail