Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Step 2

Roughly chop the pecans into smaller ¼” x ¼” pieces using a chef's knife or by pulsing in a food processor.

Step 3

Transfer the nuts and evenly spread them on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for on the middle rack in the oven for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Step 4

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Mix with a whisk until combined. Set it aside.

Step 5

In a separate large bowl, add the peeled ripe bananas and mash them thoroughly with a fork until it is smooth and soupy. It’s ok if there are a few chunks in there.

Step 6

Next, add the eggs to the bananas and whisk until it is thoroughly combined.

Step 7

Now, add the vanilla, crushed pineapple, and oil and whisk until combined and emulsified.

Step 8

Transfer the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and add in 1 ¾ cups of the toasted pecans. Mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Step 9

Evenly distribute the batter between 3 9” cake pans that have been buttered or sprayed with non-stick spray and have a parchment paper round in the bottom. Bake the cake at 350° on the middle rack in the oven for 30 to 32 minutes or until just firm in the center and browned.

Step 10

Cool the cakes on a rack completely until they’ve reached room temperature. This can take up to 2 hours.

Step 11

With about 20 minutes or so left in the cooling process, make the Cream Cheese Frosting. Briefly set it aside.

Step 12

Remove the cakes from the pans and slice off a thin layer of the top of each cake to flatten it out.

Step 13

Ice the cake in layers until it is completely coated.

Step 14

Garnish the cake with the remaining ¼ cup of chopped toasted pecans.

Step 15

Slice and serve.