Banana Cheesecake with Caramel Rum Sauce

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• cheesecake filling:
• 1 1/2 lb. (24 oz) cream cheese softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 mashed bananas, really ripe!
• 2 ts. good quality vanilla
• 1 ts. fresh lemon juice for the bananas
• crust ingredients:
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 TB dark brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• (I put a pinch of salt in the crust)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 320˚F. (I found this was the right temp for me. I’ve heard of turning oven to 350 degrees and baking for 5 minutes then down to 310 for remaining 50-55 minutes. You really have to find what works best for you and your oven temps).

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Mash ripes bananas well and sprinkle just a little bit of lemon juice, not too much about 1 ts.
To make the crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, salt and butter in a bowl until well combined. Firmly pat the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a glass to press in the edges—it really helps.
In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar; beat until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add in the bananas and vanilla extract; mix well.
Pour into the crust. Bake for 1 hour. Or until the middle is not jiggly anymore.
Let cool in the oven for 1 – 2 hours. Do not open the oven door until cool. You must chill this in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

caramel rum sauce (I halved the recipe)
from emeril lagasse

3 cups heavy cream
½ cup dark rum
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch

In a medium non-stick saucepan, combine 2 3/4 cups of the cream with the rum and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.
In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Add to the warm rum mixture and return to medium heat. Simmer, stirring, until the mixture thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm.

Yield: about 3 cups (I halved the recipe and got a little more than a cup)