Cake:

1-cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2-teaspoons baking soda

1-teaspoon salt

3/4-cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4-cup white sugar

1/2-cup salted butter, softened

1/4-cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4-cup boiling water

2 large eggs, beaten

1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-cup buttermilk

Filling:

1/4- cup white sugar

14 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg

1-pound. white chocolate bar1 1/2-teaspoons (1 pkg) unflavored gelatin

2-tablespoons cold water

1-cup. (1/2 pint) whipping cream

3-tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2-cups whipping cream
3-tablespoons powdered sugar
2-cups corsely ground Texas Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch spring form pan. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add butter and beat to form a grainy paste.

In a small bowl combine cocoa powder and boiling water, and stir until smooth. Add cocoa mixture, eggs and vanilla to butter and sugar; blend well to form a smooth batter. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter. Blend at low speed just until combined.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into middle of the cake comes out clean. Leaving cake in pan, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to make slicing easier.

To prepare the filling: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat sugar and cream cheese until well blended. Add egg and beat until light and fluffy.

Next melt white chocolate in a double boiler. While chocolate is melting, in a small metal bowl sprinkle gelatin over the cold water. Let gelatin bloom for 5 minutes, then dissolve it over a double boiler until clear and smooth.

Gradually add dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese sugar mixture, beating continuously at medium speed until smooth. (If you beat it too fast, the gelatin will stick to the sides of the bowl.)

Add whipped cream to the mixture and blend until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold the white chocolate and vanilla into the cake batter thoroughly.

To prepare the caramel topping: Cook the caramels and whipping cream in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until melted. Stir in pecans until coated.

To assemble cake and filling: Remove sides of spring form pan. Cut cake into 2 thin layers and set top layer aside. Replace sides of the spring form pan, leaving bottom layer of cake in pan. Pour half of the caramel mixture over bottom cake layer and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour filling over bottom cake layer. Carefully place the other cake layer on top of the filling. Pour the remaining caramel mixture over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for several hours.

When the filling is firm, remove sides of pan and place the cake on a plate. Whip the whipping cream and add sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Coat the sides and top of the cake with whipped cream. Press ground pecans on sides of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.