Instructions

1. Begin by making the filling first. You can do this night before, or before preparing the cake.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, dark corn syrup, heavy cream, butter and salt. Heat over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly.
3. Once boiling, continue to stir and boil for one full minute. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla extract and chopped pecans. Chill in the refrigerator until it thickens, at least two hours (or overnight).
4. For the cake, preheat oven to 350 degree F. Prepare 2- 9inch cake pans by spraying with non stick baking spray. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine egg whites with ¼ cup of the milk. Mix and set aside.
6. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy (about 2-3 minutes). Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the egg white mixture and slowly add the remaining ½ cup milk. Beat for a full 3 minutes.
7. Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove and cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then invert on wire racks and cool completely.
8. For the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and powdered sugar for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
9. To assemble cake, lay one layer of cooled cake on a cake plate. Make sure the dome of the cake has been sliced off, so that the cake is level. Top with the chilled and thickened pecan pie filling. Then top with the second cake layer. Spread a thin layer of the frosting on sides and top of cake to make a crumb coating. Chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
10. Spread the remaining frosting over the cake and garnish with pecans. Keep cake chilled until ready to serve. Then let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. ENJOY!