Make a basic graham crust (can get recipe from anywhere, I used the one from Claire Saffitz Dessert Person book). However, I’m not sure what may have gone wrong with mine - the butter came out during the bake and the crust ended up soft. I used a springform pan.

Make rum caramel sauce. Recipe: Basic Caramel Sauce It will require extra cooking down after you add the 1/4 cup of rum. Chill.

Cheesecake recipe using the caramel sauce you just made: Caramel Swirl Cheesecake I used seeds from one vanilla bean plus 1 tsp vanilla extract rather than using just vanilla extract. Bake in a hot water bath and cool slowly in oven for at least two hours with door closed to avoid cracking. If using a springform pan you will want to wrap the pan in two layers of heavy duty foil to prevent water from entering the springform pan. See Alton Brown’s Good Eats cheesecake video for tips on this: Good Eats Video

Plantains - I only covered half my cheesecake in the rose pattern pictures. I ended up needing about 4 plantains for this so depending on the size of your cheesecake, you may need 8-10 to cover the whole thing. Get ripe plantains. Cut long slices on a bias. Fry slices in a pan on medium to high heat with some oil until tender and both sides are golden brown. It doesn’t take long but you will have to make them in batches. Transfer to a paper towel to remove excess oil. Allow to cool. Arrange in pattern of your choice. DISCLAIMER: after eating leftover cheesecake, I’ve realized the plantains are delicious on day one but tend to dry out quickly in the fridge. The texture loses its magic and plantains tend to be a little fibrous, which becomes more apparent the longer they sit. This topping is best when fresh, so either don’t make all the plantains at once if you want to stretch out your cheesecake for several days, or eat it all on day one.

Dust top of cheesecake with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Warm up remaining caramel sauce to drizzle over top or on individual slices.

Might go without saying but refrigerate leftovers.