You would be right, in that pecans and caramel are ingredients, but unless you are from Winnipeg, you might not know that this is actually a piece of schmoo torte. Yes, you heard right - that's schmoo.
I didn't realize that this delicacy is exclusive to Winnipeg until this past weekend. My brother and his family were visiting from Ontario to celebrate my mom's birthday, and when they offered to buy her a cake and asked her what kind she wanted, her response provoked reactions on par with her suddenly growing a second head. They honestly thought she was joking, and they weren't convinced until they actually had one in their hands after warily asking for it at the bakery.
I did a bit of digging, and from what I can gather, the origins of schmoo torte are in Winnipeg's Jewish community, where mothers prepare this decadent cake for their sons' Bar Mitzvahs, and schmoo is a Yiddish word for gooey. (Not to be confused with Shmoo, the armless pear-shaped character from Al Capp's L'il Abner comic strip.) I know from personal experience that one of the best schmoos in the city is offered at Baked Expectations, a Winnipeg institution in Osborne Village. I think, but I can't prove, that Baked was the first place to offer the cake on its menu, but it has since become a staple at many city bakeries and restaurants.