Creating a local instance of my plugin class

I’ve created a class in c++ in a plugin. Now I’m trying to instantiate it in a blueprint.

In the variables panel I only get options to create an object reference or a soft object reference.

I can add a shape to construct an object from a class but how do I save and reference the object? Is it only accessible as an unnamed object within the construction tab?

I need the object to persist for the life of the blueprint. It implements communication to an external system.

Thanks