Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and allow to stand for about 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough. I usually use a bread machine to mix the dough. You can easily knead the dough by hand or use a standing mixer. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough doubles.
When the dough is ready, roll it out on a well floured surface into a rectangle, 18x12 inch in size.
Spread the softened butter on top of the dough, to about 1/2 inch of the edges of the dough.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/8 cup sugar.
Roll up the dough tightly, lengthwise, just like a jelly roll. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. A little trick I have to make sure the pieces are equal in size is cutting the rolled up dough in half, then cutting each half in half and dividing each piece into 3 pieces.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the heavy cream and the brown sugar. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the nuts over the cream mixture.
Place the cut rolls on top of the cream and pecans.
Let rise, covered, until doubled in size, 40 -60 minutes.
Bake about 30 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter. A wooden cutting board works really well.